An adventure of a lifetime

Published April 26, 2016
By Lt. Col. John Robinson
315th Operations Group deputy commander

JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Everybody has their idea of what an “adventure of a lifetime” is for them. I got to realize one of those adventures recently as I was invited to attend the Army’s Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Many events led to an invitation by the battalion commander of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment to attend. He even invited me to stay at his house so there were no temporary duty costs. All I could say at this point was, “you’ve taken away all my excuses, now I just have to pick a date.” I chose January so I could get it done as soon as possible.

As I drove down to Fort Benning I was a little nervous. I was “in the Army” for three weeks and what did that have in store for me. I had to pass the physical fitness test for an Army Soldier aged between 17-21, I might mention here that I’m 52 years young. I have a pretty good exercise routine and had been practicing for Army push-ups and sit-ups, which are somewhat different than the Air Force. They actually expect 90 degree bends in the elbows and a full sit-up verses crunches.

I was ready, what I wasn’t ready for was the test being at 4 a.m. with a 28 degree temperature. I passed it without trouble and was ready to continue training. I was relieved, too. Although I was confident in my ability to pass, I didn’t want to fail the test and be an embarrassment to the commander who had allowed me to be there in the first place.

Training involved 12 hour days beginning at 5:45 a.m. and ending around 6 p.m., depending on the day. Days began with PT, followed by breakfast then we’d roll into training. Parachute landing falls, jumping out of the 34 foot tower, donning the equipment, swing landing trainers, hanging harness, every detail needed to safely “exit an aircraft in flight” were covered. The Army covers it with strict attention to detail and precision. They are teaching 400-500 Soldiers per class and it is an impressive thing to see. It’s been done the same way for 75 years now. As Sgt. Airborne says, “Its airborne training, it ain’t gonna change cause you complain.”

The culmination of this training is, of course, exiting an aircraft while in flight. Fortunately we had C-130s and C-17s for our jump week. I’ve been flying the airborne course for 15 years and have dropped over 20,000 first timers over Fryar Drop Zone. I was thrilled to finally get the opportunity to jump out of a C-17. The worst part of the whole course, I think, was sitting with 60 pounds of parachute equipment for over three hours at a time waiting for the jumps. I completed the five required jumps, and graduated on Jan. 25, 2016 as part of Class 07-16.

I don’t have room in this article to describe the entire experience. I met so many young American’s eager to serve their country. The most asked question I got from them was, “How long have you been the service sir?” … 25 years. “Wow, sir, I haven’t even been alive that long.” “Why are you here?” … For an adventure of a lifetime! I just did it later in life.