United States Army Airborne School
The Airborne School is run by the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 507th Infantry, U.S. Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia. The mission of the Airborne School is to conduct the Basic Airborne Course. It is open to soldiers of both sexes from all branches of the United States Army as well as sister services and allied military personnel.
The purpose of the Basic Airborne Course is to qualify the volunteer (all students volunteer for this school) in the use of the parachute as a means of combat deployment and to develop leadership, self-confidence, and an aggressive spirit through mental and physical conditioning.
The school is three weeks long: divided into Ground Week, Tower Week and Jump Week. There is a rigorous physical training (PT) regimen through the entire course.
In Ground Week, students begin an intensive program of instruction to build individual airborne skills, which prepare them to make a parachute jump, and land safely. They train on the mock door, the 34 foot tower, and the lateral drift apparatus (LDA). To go forward to Tower Training Week, students must individually qualify on the 34 foot tower, the LDA, and pass all PT requirements.
Tower Week is a team effort when the "mass exit" concept is added to the training. The apparatuses used this week are the 34-foot towers, the swing landing trainer (SLT), the mock door for mass exit training, the suspended harness, and the 250-foot free tower. Tower Week completes student individual skill training and builds team effort skills. To go forward to Jump Training Week students must qualify on the SLT, master the mass exit procedures from the 34-foot tower, and pass all PT requirements.
During Jump Week students make five parachute jumps into Fryar Drop Zone (DZ) located in Alabama on the Fort Benning Military Reservation. At least one jump is at night.
The Airborne School instructors are commonly referred to as "Black hats", due to the black baseball cap with their dress uniform rank insignia and parachutist badge that is the distinguishing part of their uniform. Unusual for an Army school, instructors come from the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, United States Navy and United States Air Force. The reasoning behind this is because students from all four main branches of the military are able to attend, so each branch insists that they have at least one representative to ensure quality instruction. They train students in the use of static line deployed parachutes. The battalion is organized into six companies: Headquarters and Headquarters Company for administrative actions and command and control; four Line Companies (A, B, C, and D) execute the Basic Airborne Course Program of Instruction (POI) and Company (E) provides parachute rigger support.
See also
External links
- 11th Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 507th Infantry Homepage
- U.S. Army Infantry Homepage (Fort Benning, GA)
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