Jumpmasters conduct airborne training in Afghanistan

4th BCT, 82nd Abn. Div. PAO

Photos by Sgt. Stephen Decatur/4th BCT, 82nd Abn. Div. PAO Major David Hammerschmidt, operations officer for 508th Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division is tested on jumpmaster personnel inspections Friday at Kandahar Airfield during a jumpmaster refresher course. The Advance Airborne School held the course for jumpmasters about to return to Fort Bragg so that the unit will be prepared to conduct the division’s primary mission as a global reaction force.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Imagine inspecting your equipment, putting on your armor and preparing for a mission that carries all the hazards of the war. It’s an experience most paratroopers have had or will have when they deploy, and one they would expect while serving as an instructor in a school. But for a mobile training team of instructors from the 82nd Airborne Division’s Advanced Airborne School, it was no surprise when they left for Afghanistan in early July.

The 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Abn. Div. finished jumpmaster refresher training and jumpmaster course pre-testing Saturday in Afghanistan after the Advanced Airborne School wrapped up a two-week tour of the country to bring the school to paratroopers who are operating across four provinces here.

In order to bring about 200 jumpmasters back up to speed and pre-test scores of paratroopers for jumpmaster school when they get back to Fort Bragg, the instructors travelled by air and land to reach units in southern and western Afghanistan. Showing that extra dedication needed to be a jumpmaster, the instructors went to Afghanistan during the school’s designated block leave time.

It’s normal for Advanced Airborne School instructors to go downrange to prepare one of the 82nd’s units returning from combat to resume its airborne mission, said Sgt. 1st Class Herman Hodges, one of the “Black Hats” who instructed the course. The school has sent instructors to almost every unit of the division coming back from downrange, Hodges said.

“Our job is to make sure that jumpmasters are trained so no one gets hurt, and that every unit is proficient so that the division can perform its overall mission as 911 for the Army and be able to deploy anywhere in the world within 18 hours.”

There are a few reasons why the 82nd Abn. Div. holds the training downrange. The first is to get the undivided attention of jumpmasters and future jumpmasters while they’re still focused on the mission instead of while they’re reconnecting with Family and getting their personal affairs in order after being away from home for a year. The second is to prepare jumpmasters to lead their fellow paratroopers in airborne operations so that troopers are proficient and the unit won’t have to wait until troopers come home from leave to get back into a normal training schedule.

Proficiency is the key to ensuring paratroopers perform their jumps safely, Hodges said.
“Safety is a jumpmaster’s number one duty. An experienced jumper has seen every Murphy’s Law so he can adapt to that situation,” Hodges said.

Maintaining proficiency is also critical for the jumpmasters themselves. Especially since the Army is transitioning to new equipment for airborne operations including the T-11 parachute and a new rucksack, jumpmasters have to keep on top of the latest trends and tweaks in safety standards, Hodges said.

“It was great they came and filled us in with the changes going on at Bragg,” said 1st Sgt. Paul Watson of Company B, 782nd Brigade Support Battalion. “A lot of us were still thinking of doing everything the old way, but things are still moving back there while we’re over here.”

Jumpmaster training is critical for the 82nd Abn. Div. now more than ever because the deployment cycle has meant that while units have been deployed, they aren’t jumping and many qualified jumpmasters and experienced jumpers have rotated out of the unit in the meantime. They’ve often been replaced leaders who haven’t started their careers as airborne Soldiers and have to learn to lead troops in the sky right away, Hodges said.

While the unit is coming close to the end of its current mission in Afghanistan, the basic mission that distinguishes airborne units from all others in the armed forces has not gone away, said Col. Brian Drinkwine, the brigade commander.

“During this deployment, our paratroopers have done an outstanding job in all of their various missions,” Drinkwine said. “The one thing that has remained constant is we’re airborne paratroopers ready to support our nation with our unique skill set.”

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