The run down on this past week:
Monday:
We were allowed to skip PT because a lot of people were out late watching the Superbowl. We formed up at 0830 and get straight to training. Our platoon started working on the mock doors. The mock doors are replicas of the inside of a C-17 or C-130. We practiced all the commands and actions taken inside the plane prior to jumping. It was pretty easy and most people picked up on it pretty quickly.
Afterwards, we started on Mass Exits from the 34 foot tower. We got into 4 man groups and had to do 4 different kinds of jumps from the tower. We had to get "Go's" on a Hollywood (no gear) with a partial malfunction, Hollywood full malfunction, Full Combat Gear (Ruck sack and weapon) partial malfunction, and Full Combat Gear full malfunction. For the most part it was pretty easy. Our group took 6 tries and got a Go in all 4 categories. The bags hang from your waist and in front of your legs, like the pack in the picture:
It weighs about 30 pounds. These bags were a pain in the ass to lug up and down the tower. We finished all of our jumps on Monday then we worked a detail retrieving the alice packs.
Tuesday:
For PT we did Grass Drills. For people familiar with football drills, this is very close to Up-Downs. The Sergeant Airborne says Front and you start doing pushups. He says back and you start doing flutter kicks. And if he says Go you stand up and start running. He might also tell you to roll left or right. You get pretty dirty and its a pretty fun workout.
After morning chow, we went back to the tower to finish up the people who hadn't finished all their jumps. I worked the rope detail which sucked because I was one of the few details that was exposed to the rain, the wind, and the mud. I got very, VERY dirty. I was also very wet and freezing. P.S. Georgia weather SUCKS.
After Lunch, we took a class on the Swing Landing Trainer. The Swing Landing Trainer is the most painful torture device I have been hooked up to. Here's a video for you to watch. It doesn't look too bad here. I'm not sure who was running it in this video, but they are much nicer than our Sergeant Airborne's. Luckily, I did not have to attempt the SLT on Tuesday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5Gzzle_GqI&feature=PlayList&p=C7D20697BA481993&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=2
Wednesday:
For PT, we did Circuit Drills. We run around the track and stop every couple hundred meters and do some kind of exercise, then run again and do another exercise, for about 50 minutes. We ended up doing 2 miles and a lot of exercises.... But great PT, fun stuff.
After morning chow, it was time to head back to the SLT, and this time it was my turn in the harness. As you can kind of see by the video above, what happens is that you jump off a 12 foot platform, harnessed in to a swing. The swing catches you and you swing back and forth. Then you pull a slip, just pull two of your risers, which slows you down as you approach the ground, and then the instructor drops you and you perform a "PLF." You have to get Go's on 2 each from your left and right, and 1 each from your front right, front left, rear right, and rear left. This means you have to get 8 Go's. I had to go 17 times to get those 8 Go's. Although, it doesn't look that violent, believe me, it is. When the harness catches you, it pulls on your body. Well, for guys, it happens to put pressure on the one part of the body that causes the most pain, our balls... (sorry if thats a little harsh for some of you, but its exactly what happens). By the end of the day, it felt as if I had been punched in the balls 17 times. I had chafing on my inner thighs and below my stomach where my leg meets my pelvic bone, like right above the man area. This chafing was soooo bad that I had blood running down my leg. We came to a conclusion that if the Devil wanted to build a torture device, he would build the Swing Landing Trainer. Wednesday was definitely the most painful day of Airborne school. P.S. It's very VERY cold in Georgia.
After dinner chow, our platoon sergeant decided to revoke our pass. I had planned on going to bed early, however, we needed to clean our barracks because a few people had made some poor decisions earlier in the day. We stood at parade rest in our hall, passing one broom around, from 1900 to 2130. It was the most retarded thing ever.
Thursday:
Thursday was an easy day. For PT we had a 4 mile run that included a very large hill, aptly named Cardiac Hill. After that, we had two final classes to pop out before the week was over. The morning class was on diagonal slips and what to do if a malfunction occurs in the air. The practical exercise was pretty lame and the device was in a few inches of water. Thus, everyone's feet were soaked and we were all freezing. P.S. Did I mention its cold in Georgia.
After lunch, we got divided up into the chalks that we'll be jumping in next week. A couple guys I've gotten to know these last 2 weeks are in my group, so that's good. And then we went back out to our last class on malfunctions that can happen with our chutes and what to do if they occurred. It was pretty lame and we had already been taught most of it. But luckily it was our last block of training. We were finally released for our 4 day weekend. So, as I mentioned it is cold and windy in Georgia. From being outside in all this shit, I have a very painful wind burn on my face. I have never experienced wind burn. But basically, what it feels like is similar to if you were in a bucket of ice for a while, then jumped into the Hot Tub. You still feel cold, but hot, and its all tingly. I get to deal with this all weekend.
Friday:
Today has been pretty chill. Start of a 4 day weekend. I woke up around 9 and me and a buddy went to Burger King for breakfast. Then I had a 2 hour guard from noon to 2 pm. Around 8:30 this morning it began to snow. It hasn't stopped since (it's 6 pm right now). In Georgia, the 3 inches we've accumulated is a catastrophic event. We went to Subway for lunch at 2 and we were told at 2:30 that we needed to leave because they were closing down. This is what most of Columbus has done. We are hoping we can get a taxi that is willing to drive on the freeway to get us to the movie theater to go see Wolfman in a bit. But, that may not be a possibility... Anyway, hope you all have a great President's Weekend. I will update you as much as I can next week. Hope I get to see some of you soon!
Chris
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