Airborne

I remember one of the brigades pushing folks to wear those ankle braces in the 90s. They sucked. I was able to avoid except for one jump-the 94 or 95ish Division Convention into Salt Lake City.

 

I wonder (if you still check this forum) if you were one of my instructors. I went through D Co in Spring of '04. If not I'm sure you'd know the Black Hat who worked with my chalk the most. I believe his name was Conaway, or something similar.

As for my jump stories:
The best was my first jump in Division. Hollywood, 1600 ft, walking off the ramp of a Chinook. I must've caught some thermals on the way down because I was floating up there forever, and I was almost able to stay on my feet when I landed.
Maybe the worst was a night (aren't they all?) DZ mission. Some guy went out the opposite door right after me. My chute opens and I start checking my canopy. I notice this dumbass drop his gear right away. His ruck took one swing away from me, then swung right into my suspension lines and got tangled up. It started pulling him into my canopy, all the way to the apex, till I was left with a half inflated canopy. Fortunately he was able to get himself out and my canopy re-inflated, though his ruck was hopelessly stuck in my lines. I went to check the ground to see if it was time to drop my equipment and realized I only had about 15 ft to go! Quick squeezed my feet and knees together and wham! Fortunately I was moving sideways, so I my legs didn't fall forward over my unlowered ruck. No injuries to either of us.

 

34 Jumps. (A 1/319 AFAR)

2 Tree landings
+
1 Towed jumper
+
almost 20 years service
--------------------
= Great monthly checks for life. lol

 

Hey DIVARTY!
A 3/319 here! Best gun in '04! I was part of the battery when we were pulled from 3rd batt and redesignated 2/321.

 

Right on. I was Loyalty Battalion from 2000 to late 2004. Forward Observer. Some of my best memories of my entire career were right there.

 

A-Co 1/505 PIR. 32 jumps. We flew from Bragg to Ft Irwin California to NTC. In flight rigging which is a major pita. Usually we jumped from 141's, but this trip was from the mighty Hercules. This was in August and the ride was filled with bumps and heat. Add the fact that we had to rig, get JMPI'd and cram in for the long flight to Cali, it wasn't the most enjoyable of times. Someone got sick and threw up before he got his puke bag out of his Kevlar. Several others followed, and we even had someone shit their pants. Getting to the shitter in a C130 when you're crammed in, chuted up, and no isle room isn't happening. The plane smelled like poop and puke, and I've never wanted to get out the door more desperately than that trip. Then we had a 30 day NTC to look forward to. Good times.

 

What unit is this? When I was in the 82nd in the 90's everyone in the division was airborne.

 

Was this in 96?
Because the exact same day 1-505 and its slice units were flying to NTC in 96, I was flying to Vicenza PCSing away.

 

Yes it was. August 1996

 

I knew it sounded familiar. I'm glad I PCSed.

I was in 1-319 then and in 1P's DS artillery battery. Was "lucky" enough to jump into the first Fort Polk JRTC rotation, the Salt Lake City Division Convention, and then missed JRTC the same year as the Haiti thing when 1P went to Fort Pickett and the rest of 3rd Brigade spent a rainy rotation in Louisiana.

 

You were there for Haiti? Me too! We’re were rigged up and ready to go. Our lead battalion actually took off. I was at Pickett. I was at JRTC kin 95. We actually almost didn’t leave for NTC because someone stole a 9mm from one of the companies arms room. Do you remember when those 2 11M’s killed that couple in Fayetteville in 96? They were from our HHC.

And the Towle stadium shooting in 95?

 

Yeah, was putting camo on when the Peanut Farmer made the deal that scratched Haiti. Was on block leave for the Towle Stadium thing-I remember watching the news at lunch wondering why the heck those stadium lights looked familiar. There was also a 13B from 2-319 that was in on that killing and the birth of Army tattoo inspections.

I was last at Bragg in 2015. You wouldn't recognize Ardennes at all.

 

Yeah, from what I heard the barracks that we had are no longer. They built new ones. Is the airborne PX still there? Our barracks was on Gela and Ardennes. We got our tattoos checked, they went through our barracks and checked everything. I can't remember why Haiti was called off. I just remember the roar of cheers in that maintenance hanger. We wanted to go though. And get our mustard stain. Wouldn't have been much of a fight.

 

Yeah, those barracks are long gone. I was there in the early-mid 00s, right across the street from Towle. They were in the middle of demolition and construction of all the new barracks. Down the street the infantry guys had the brand spanking new barracks. Us arty guys were in the old buildings with the black mold in the ceilings and finicky hot water. We barracks hopped for about a year as they tore down buildings and renovated others (I'll never understand why, if the intention was to tear them down a couple years later). Haven't been back in a long time to see what it's like now, but one of these All American Weeks I think I'll head down to see the division review from the other side.

 

When I left Bragg for the second and last time in late 2009, the Old style barracks were all but gone on Combat Row. All except the one building (which when I was there housed A 1/319) directly across from Sniper Field. Where years before I cut my teeth in the 82nd. It was fenced off. But that didn't stop me from hoping the fence, late one night and checking out my old barracks room. It was still painted blue, which I had done one weekend on a whim back in 2000(ish). I used to joke with my wife and tell her that if I had known that barracks were going to improve so much I wouldn't have been in such a hurry to get married! lol

 

I still remember my chalk number. C 609

 

Yeah. I want to head down to division review one of these AA weeks too.

 

The last barracks buildings can down in 2014, and were used by 2-325 for S shops and stuff. The last of the small battalion HQs was used by 2-325 and came down in 2014 as well.

Just NW of Grave st. There is a parking lot there now.

 

I'm really hoping they pulled up the wooden floor crest I built for 2/321 BN HQ when I was R&U NCO. Put a fair amount of work into that thing. Guess they couldn't save my paintings on the barracks walls though haha.

 

There were a few legs in the low density/soft skilled units when I was there, not like they needed to be Airborne anyways since those kind of units didn't do shit anyways besides hit the DZ and head for the bleachers. Infantry Battalions where all jump qualified.