Jump! Ch. 02

This story is part of an ongoing series. The chronological order of my stories is listed in WifeWatchman's biography.

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racism, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

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Dedicated to all United States Paratroopers, past, present, and future, with gratitude for their service to the Nation and our Allies. All the way and then some!...

Part 5 - The Airborne Mission

"Ah, might as well jump (Jump)
Might as well jump
Go ahead and jump (jump)
Go ahead and jump..."

--- Van Halen, 'Jump'

If looks could kill...

Cindy was staring daggers at me as everyone watched. I was staring right back, and my look was questioning her (wo)manhood. Teresa was grinning... yes, an actual grin was on the Iron Wolf's face.

"Let's go, Green Crowbar!" yelled the Sheriff, his mustaches actually vibrating with merriment. "You're holding up progress!"

Cindy grabbed the parachute. "If it stops you from jumping, I'll do it." Everyone cheered.

Jumpmaster Monroe said "Come over here and get trained up on parachute landing falls." As he guided Cindy over to the equipment area, I said "Teresa, go with her. Get all the practice you can." Teresa took off after them.

I could no longer keep the grin off my face as I said "She should've known. She really should've known." Everyone cheered...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As Cindy and Teresa came back to the group, Air Force Lt. Commander Calvin and Major Hobbes came up to me. Calvin said "Sorry about your bad back, sir. Would you like to ride in the cockpit with us?'

"Uh, sure!" I said. "Just let me say one thing to these guys first. Okay, everyone, circle around me! Modified Troy formation!"

Everyone circled me, and I said "Today's jump is going to be a lot of fun, but take things seriously, and take care of yourselves and each other up there. And just remember this: you're getting the opportunity to do this for fun. But there are a lot of Airborne Paratroopers out there, and Paratroopers of our Allies, that do this as their jobs, and it's serious business."

Me: "When you land on the ground... after keeping your feet and knees together, hint hint... and you run back to the collection point, your mission is ended and we'll all celebrate. But those guys that do this for a living know that when they've landed in a hot landing zone after being shot at while they're in the air, their jobs have just begun, and they are the hardest jobs in the world: combat."

Me: "So remember that, the job some of you have done, and that others are doing for our Freedom, and always keep them in your hearts and prayers." After a pause to let my words sink in, I shouted "All right, let's go! All the way and then some!"

"Airborne!" returned a chorus.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"And where is the Prince who can afford to so cover his country with troops for its defense, as that ten thousand men descending from the clouds, might not in many places do an infinite deal of mischief, before a force could be brought together to repel them?"
---Benjamin Franklin.

Everyone went into the first tent, which had rows of benches. They donned their parachutes, and the Jumpmasters checked them and their equipment. Then they filed into the second tent. There were two rows of benches, and a large map on the wall. Jumpmaster Monroe gave the briefing.

"We will be flying from south to north. The collection point will be to the east, just to the north of our position here." said Monroe. Then he added "You will have to do some work to find a tree to land in on this drop zone, so I'm not worried about that. If the aircraft catches fire or has some problem while we're on the ground, you will run out the back door. Once we're in the air, however, if we have aircraft trouble, you will be hooking up and jumping out of the aircraft..."

I didn't get to stay for the rest of the briefing, as I was going with the pilots to the aircraft, which was parked near the one that Townspeople were going in and out of on their tour. As we neared the plane, with me carrying my helmet, I heard a voice yell "Hi Daddy!"

It was Carole. I saw her, Marie, Jim, and Tasha with Laura, Ross and Ian with Molly, and Dan and Patricia Allgood were with their parents next to my family. They were all waving, and I waved back at them, then boarded the aircraft.

We went up into the cockpit, and the pilots took their seats. They knew I was licensed to fly helicopters, so they took more time to explain the controls and instruments than they normally would. Then I heard cheering. The Townspeople were cheering for the jumpers as they filed onto the back of the aircraft.

"We're going to take off going north." said the co-pilot. "We'll circle left to stay out of the Airport's approach patterns, then fly south along the State Line River before turning around and coming north again."

Just then the cockpit door opened, and MSG Morales came in. I saw that the jumpers were loading onto the aircraft and sitting down, their reserves in their laps. The pilots started up the turboprop engines, and the co-pilot contacted Town & County Airport (TCA), who gave the weather and vectors for the plane to fly once it took off from the Bypass.

The back ramp door was shut, and the plane rolled out. It taxied south on the Bypass, then turned around, revved up the engines, and lifted off right in front of the Townspeople after a very short roll. C-130s can do that. I felt that familiar wave of pressure as the plane lifted into the air.

The Jumpmaster in back immediately gave the command "TWENTY MINUTES!" and everyone replied "TWENTY MINUTES!"

"Quickly, sir." said Jumpmaster Morales. "It's really going to be ten minutes, if that." I reached under my seat and pulled out the parachute stored under there. I adjusted the straps to the fourth (of five) positions, since I was so tall.

Yes, I was going to jump. This whole scheme was to not only to get Cindy in a parachute and jumping with us, but to prevent her from stopping me. And MSG Morales was more than willing to help; after all, I had gone into a burning kennel and saved his dog's life, and this was the return of the favor. Funny how things like that work out, eh wot?

"Welcome to the new T-11 parachute." said Morales. The T-10, that had been in use since the 1950s and featured the round parachutes, were being phased out over time and replaced with the T-11, which was a more square shape and had some safety improvements.

I remembered that when I was at Airborne School, a 'Black Hat' instructor had told us that "every change to this equipment was made because someone died." That was not quite true anymore, but the equipment was still very basic. Leonardo Da Vinci would be proud.

With Morales's help, I put the flat bag that I'd put the parachute in once on the ground against my belly, then fastened the straps over it, making sure my balls were comfortably nestled between the straps going between my legs. There's a device at Airborne School called the 'Nutcracker', and astute Detectives among you can figure out why... get the straps wrong, and if you are a male, you will feel pain.

Morales ran his fingers along the edges of my strapped-on helmet to make sure there were no sharp edges to nick anything that did not need to be nicked. Then he checked the connectors to the risers, the static line running along the back.

"Squat and hold." he said. I held up the reserve as he checked it and its connections, then the straps underneath.

Afterwards, he cracked open the door and looked out. Cindy was on our right, the aircraft's left side, and she'd been placed to be first in line, to 'stand in the door'. Teresa would be standing in the door on the other side.

The Air Force persons next to the Jumpmasters (one of them being the chief Loadmaster) opened the doors on each side of the aircraft and checked it out, then said "Army, it's your door!" The Jumpmasters ran their hands along the sides and tops of the doors, making sure there were no sharp points, then checked to make sure the extension step out the bottom of the door was secure.

Then they grasped the sides of the door and leaned out. It didn't look like much, but they were checking a lot... making sure the wings of the aircraft looked right, making sure there were no obstructions going to the rear of the plane that might get a jumper hurt.

As they did, I snuck out of the cockpit and to the side of the aircraft in Cindy's line, so that she would not see me. Julia Rodriguez was last in the line, and she grinned when she saw me come up to her. Chief Moynahan was in front of her, and made a point to not look back.

Teresa was on the other side, and she glanced back and saw me get in the back of the other line. I put my finger to my lips and Teresa got the message, and turned around to watch the Jumpmasters lest Cindy look over and see that Teresa was looking at something.

Then 'shit got real'. The Jumpmaster yelled "SIX MINUTES!" and everyone yelled "SIX MINUTES!" in reply. I glanced up at Teresa. She did not seem nervous at all, but sometimes I couldn't read her inscrutable face. I remembered telling her in the past that the Airborne School at Ft. Benning had never lost a student. (Author's note: And to my knowledge, that is still true to this day.)

"THIRTY SECONDS!" yelled the Jumpmaster. The energy in everyone went up as the adrenaline began flowing.

"GET READY!" shouted the Jumpmaster. "GET READY!" everyone yelled.

"OUTBOARD PERSONNEL, STAND UP!" yelled the Jumpmasters, and everyone repeated it. Everyone stood up and faced the rear of the aircraft.

"HOOK UP!" Everyone attached their static line to the cable running along the aircraft, and held the looped static line.

"CHECK STATIC LINES!" Everyone checked their lines and the lines of the person in front of them. Julia and I turned, facing the skin of the aircraft, and she checked my line.

"CHECK EQUIPMENT!" Everyone checked to make sure their equipment was secure, and that nothing had become unbuckled or unattached (disattached?). With this being a 'Hollywood' jump, we had no combat gear on us. No, I didn't have my crowbar, either.

"SOUND OFF FOR EQUIPMENT CHECK!" I slapped Julia on her butt and said "OKAY!", and so it went up the line.

"OKAY!"... "OKAY!"... "OKAY!"... "OKAY!"... "OKAY!"... "OKAY!"... "OKAY!"..."OKAY!"...

At the end, Teresa and Cindy did well. They extended an arm towards the Jumpmaster and yelled "ALL OKAY, JUMPMASTER!" And they waited until the Jumpmaster acknowledged their signal before dropping their arms.

"STAND! IN THE DOOR!" yelled the Jumpmaster. Cindy on my side and Teresa on the other side looked their static lines into the Jumpmaster's hands, then slapped their palms against the sides of the door, their knees slightly bent, ready to jump as hard and far as they could out of the doors. If this had been a jet aircraft, the command would've been 'Stand By!" and they would just step out of the aircraft, as jumping too far out might get one's chute melted by the jet engine's exhaust.

We all readied to do the 'Airborne Shuffle'. That was walking towards the door but keeping one foot in front of the other in a shuffle-step. It helped the jumpers keep their balance, which in an aircraft experiencing turbulence could be problematic.

There are red and green lights in the side of the doors. The red light winked off... and the green light lit with a chilling glow...

"GREEN LIGHT! GO!"

Neither Cindy nor Teresa showed any fear or hesitation, and they both jumped out the door and grabbed their reserve chutes. We all began the Airborne Shuffle to the door as we were exiting as rapidly as we could. When it came to me, I looked my static line into the Jumpmaster's hand, then turned, stepped onto that little step at the bottom of the door, and launched myself out!

I felt the violent turbulence of the air as I yelled "One thousand! Two thousand! Three thousand! Four thousand! Check canopy!" I looked up as the turbulence settled to see an international camo square above me, and the plane further above and dwindling in size as I fell away from it. My chute had deployed!

My biggest problem when jumping is that I'm 6'4" tall, and I tend to not pull my arms and elbows into my body as tightly as I need to. Ergo, I tend to spin, which twists the risers. I spun around this time, too. So I reached up and pulled the risers apart, rotating me in the other direction until the risers separated.

Then I looked around. I was facing east, towards the Town. Like during my unplanned jump into Jack Muscone's wedding (Author's note: 'Power of Love', Ch. 03), I admired the view of my Town from high in the sky, realizing I might never get this perspective again.

After that indulgence, I looked around and saw the string of parachutists floating towards the earth beneath me and to my right, nowhere close to me. I noticed that one parachute near the first jumpers was a little bigger, and was coming down more slowly...

... and then I looked up and realized my own chute seemed to be a little bit large. But not being familiar with the T-11, I wasn't sure.

When one is parachuting, one does not really feel oneself falling. And the earth seems far away for a while, then all of a sudden one realizes one is getting close to the ground. We're taught to pull our risers into our chests, keep our chins down so our heads don't snap back and hit the ground, and keep our eyes on the horizon so that we don't reach out with our legs to the ground, which could cause injury.

I saw parachute after parachute billowing out as the jumpers landed. I was still high up, relatively speaking, and thinking that I should've been on the ground by now. Still, I did the right things, and as the ground began rushing up I pulled my risers to my chest and kept my feet and knees tightly together. Then I felt a jarring over my whole body, and I realized I was on the ground and rolling to my side.

I rolled over and let my momentum pop me back up. I pulled the cord on the buckle, releasing the riser from the harness so that my chute didn't drag me. There was virtually no wind, so there was no problem being dragged. I went and grabbed the top of my chute, and began wrapping it in my arms, running and twisting my arms side to side. Then I put the chute into the bag we'd jumped with, and began running towards the collection point.

I was the last to land, by far. Even Jumpmaster Morales, who had jumped out after I did, had landed before me. Julia Rodriguez had looked back and seen me land, and circled back to me. "All good, sir?" she asked as we ran together.

"All good, Paratrooper Rodriguez." I replied, which made her grin. And then I said "Oops. I spoke too soon." Indeed, the Green Crowbar was waiting for me, her arms crossed, her ice blue eyes flashing even from a distance away. I was officially in 'deep kimchee' with her.

As I came up to her, I quoted the Paul Cashman Vietnam War song '19' by saying "N-n-n-n-nineteen."

"And that's the last one." Cindy said darkly.

"Uh huh." I said, then grinned and added: "How many jumps do you have?"

Cindy glared at me... and then broke down and (sort of) laughed. "One more than I ever intended. And yes, I see now why you're so willing to risk your back by jumping..."

Part 6 - Special Ceremonies

As the jumpers had run in, the Townspeople watching had given everyone an ovation. As Julia and I reached the collection point, we were loudly applauded, as well. We put our bags down in the line, then I went over and began shaking the hands of my fellow jumpers.

"Rodriguez," I said, "come this way. Everyone else, come with us." We all went over to where Alison McFarland was. Keith Madden was acting as her cameraman. As we got up to them, General McFarland and Sheriff Griswold came up to us. The Sheriff handed me something as the General started speaking.

"Attention to orders!" the General called out, and the current and former military people instinctively came to attention. McFarland then began reading a document which said in part "... having completed the prescribed course of study, Julia Rodriguez is hereby awarded this diploma, and along with it, the Parachutist Badge."

Being at Ft. Benning, GA, near Columbus, GA, the Airborne School and other schools run by the U.S. Army there are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools... just like the University of Georgia and Auburn University are. And they award diplomas, and now Julia Rodriguez was receiving hers.

But of much more importance at the moment, General McFarland said "Commander Troy, would you award Sergeant Rodriguez the Parachutist Badge?"

"With pleasure, General." I said loudly. The Sheriff had handed me the silver jump wings attached to the piece of cardboard backing, which I'd removed. I observed that Julia had tears in her eyes as I pushed the pins through her black uniform shirt above her left pocket flap...

*WHAP!*

I slapped my hand onto the wings, pushing the pins far enough to penetrate Julia's skin. Blood wings! I'd given her. She grimaced as the other Police Officers that were Airborne-qualified cheered loudly.

"Commanderrr..." General McFarland said under his breath. I was not supposed to give her nor anyone else blood wings. And this would not be the last time I would violate that prohibition.

"Yes sir." I said in reply. As everyone cheered Julia and came up to congratulate her, I said quietly to the General "I was just giving her a face-saving reason for those tears in her eyes."

"It was a matter of honor, General." said Sheriff Griswold astutely. The General nodded in agreement...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Admiral Cordell looked like he was drunk as he shook hands with everyone; indeed, he was still on a huge adrenaline rush from his jump. I was told that he and I had been given larger chutes than normal, which explained why we descended more slowly than everyone else.

When I told Cindy that, she said "I still oughta give you a green crowbar beatdown, and make that bigger parachute a moot point." Then she said "I still can't believe you somehow got on that plane and into a chute without me seeing you."

I said "Ranger Morales was very grateful I saved his dog Ranger, and he paid it back by helping me get past you. The pilots were in on it, too; that's why they asked if I wanted to fly with them in the cockpit. You might have noticed they never came back to land... and they're not going to. They're flying to Little Rock AFB, which handles maintenance for the C-130s. So I either had to jump out, or I'd be walking home from Arkansas."

At that moment, Tanya and Jack Muscone came up, with young Pete Feeley in tow. Jack was wearing the ubiquitous suit and tie of an FBI Agent. Tanya was toodling around in her 'Tank', the tracked wheelchair that was making getting around on the ground a lot easier for her. And a lot of kids had been curiously observing her Tank, the same way people had admired the C-130 when they toured its insides.

Jack said "Hey, Dog, where are my jump wings?" He was referring to our forced jump on his wedding day.

"Dude! You gotta be kidding me!" I fired back, "I had to physically kick your ass out of that airplane!"

Tanya burst out laughing at that. As Teresa came up to us, Tanya said "Are Teresa and Cindy getting their wings?"