Fort Moore, Georgia. (January 16, 2025): With slogans like "Death from Above", it is obvious that “Going Airborne” is no picnic. In this photo by Staff Sergeant Keith Thornburgh, a prospective trooper jumps from a tower wearing full combat gear at the Army’s Basic Airborne Course (BAC). Operated by the 1st Battalion, 507th Infantry, the course is open to servicemembers from all branches of the military, ROTC cadets, and allied military personnel.
From the D-Day invasion of Normandy to Operation Northern Delay in Iraq, American Airborne forces are widely admired by allies and feared by enemies. Joining this group is understandably difficult, right from the beginning. To qualify for Airborne training, candidates must pass the Army Physical Fitness Test using the standards for the 17-21 age group, regardless of their actual age. If they meet these requirements, cadets will undergo a three-week intensive program divided into three phases; Ground, Tower, and Jump Weeks.
Ground Week is dedicated to teaching students how to land properly to minimize the potential for injury. Students jump from platforms of various heights into sand or pebble pits, simulating the final stage of a parachute landing. Students learn how to transfer the energy of the fall (landing) up the sides of the lower legs and knees. In addition to perfecting their landing, students get to know their parachutes, one round and the other square shaped. The first week culminates in practice landings from a zip line type assembly that simulates making contact with the ground at high speed and from various directions.
The second week concentrates on jumping from towers. Prospective troopers begin by leaping from a 34-foot tower while using a swing-landing trainer, a suspended harness used to simulate exiting an aircraft. Students learn the different phases of parachute flight from exiting the aircraft, absorbing the initial shock of chute deployment, and how to steer their way to the landing zone. They also practice identifying parachute malfunctions and how to deal with it.
The course finale is Jump Week where students make five jumps, including at least one at night, to graduate. It is a chaotic scene as hundreds of nervous troopers board either a C-130 Hercules or the giant C-17 aircraft at Lawson Army Airfield for their first jump. They will leave the aircraft in “sticks” of twelve persons from both sides of the plane at around 1250 feet.
If they survive, these students will join the select few who have earned the honor of wearing jump wings.