Basic Parachutist Course 1997, Journal

by MWO Shaun Stratford

4 JULY 97

Camp started out like every other one, hurry up and wait. I rushed off to the train station only to find out that it was running fifteen minutes behind schedule. By the time we reached the Ottawa station we were over an hour late. The good thing about that was that on my next VIA Rail ticket I get 50% off. Out of the ten cadets on my train, only two of us were going to the Basic Parachutist Course, the others were going to the two marksmanship camps. Although we all felt very nervous about the course and each other, our day and a half in Connaught was really fun. As people continued to trickle in from all across Canada, the rest of us sat around and got to know each other.

5 JULY 97

We all got up at 0630 and went to breakfast. Then we sat around some more until lunch came around. After that, we all changed back into our uniforms, and despite only 57 of the predicted 63 cadets showing up, we boarded a bus and left for our home for the next two weeks at C.F.B. Petawawa. The rest of the day was long and lazy. The same can almost surely be predicted for tomorrow, as it's Sunday, but come Monday, that's when hell begins!

6 JULY 97

I guessed right. Reveile was at 0700. We did a quick jog down to the mess hall, which is about one kilometer away. After that, the rest of the day was pretty much ours. A bunch of us went to the AIRBORNE museum at 1100 hours until lunch, and let's just say that it is a very impressive place! We lounged around for the rest of the afternoon, then went to supper, then lounged around some more. At 1900, we did a little P.T., the most we've done since arriving on Friday. And if that 15 minutes worth was any indication, it's going to be one fun but challenging summer. Tomorrow is our first P.T. test, and it will either "make us or break us!"

7 JULY 97

We did the P.T. test and I did very well. It consisted of a 4 mile run in under 32 minutes, 40 pushups, 50 situps, and 10 chinups. Once everything was over and we were back at our barracks, we found out that three people were R.T.U.'d (Returned To Unit) for failing. We sat around again until lunch, and then spent the rest of the afternoon getting our kit issued. We were given two pairs of combats, combat boots, rain jacket, barracks box, duffel bag, combat hat, laundry bag, jump helmet, Parachute Equipment Lowering System (PELS), rucksac and a sandbag. After supper, we just hung around once again until lights out.

8 JULY 97

We were up at 0530 and outside for P.T. at 0550. After some pushups and a nice 3 mile run, we changed into combats and ran down to the mess for breakfast. After breakfast, we ran down to B-21, which became our training building for the next two weeks. It also became known as "Satan's Lair". The first thing we learned was that we had to do seven chinups every time we entered or exited the building. Next we learned the parts and characteristics of the CT-1 parachute and CR-1 reserve. Then we learned how to put on and wear the training assemblies. Next we learned the proper jump commands while in the plane and spent half an hour to an hour practicing them. The final thing we learned was the foot movements that we would use to properly exit the plane. Tomorrow we get to learn how to fly! After supper, at 1900 we went for another hour's worth of P.T., which turned into a one hour run, in the rain, through muddy hills and valleys. Although I didn't find the run terribly hard, I did find running up 50 meter sand dunes a real pain in the ass!! On the bright side, it was a really scenic run, right beside the Petawawa River. Now I understand why Capt. Butson said there were some really mean rapids on that river. Anyway, at 2000, when we got back to the shacks, we all just showered, practiced our jump procedures, and recovered from our first real day of training.

9 JULY 97

Once again we were up at 0530 and out doing P.T. from 0600 to 0630. We were back at B-21 for the rest of the day learning how our parachutes worked in the air and how to handle any problems that we faced. In the afternoon we learned how to land (only the basics) and then we were put up in the racks. On my first landing attempt, I didn't bend my body enough, so I just sort of flopped onto the ground. I was told that if it had been a real jump, I would be nothing more than a red stain on the ground. After supper, at 1900, we went for another hour long run. I think that our instructors are crazy because they seem to know where every road and path will lead them on the entire base! At 2000 hours, we went into the shacks, washed and went to the CANEX for about an hour.

10 JULY 97

Well we lost two more people today. The mornings are always the same. P.T. then run to breakfast, then run to B-21, only today we walked because we had our rucks and sandbags. We learned in the morning how to rig our rucksacks for a jump. Then we got back into the flight racks to practice our 5 points of flight procedure and how to handle twists and tangles. After lunch we practiced our landing techniques from the racks again, and we are slowly getting better. We then practiced a mass parachute drop from the CC-130 mock-up, and man did we SUCK! If it had been a real drop, I would guess that there would have been a 90% casualty rate. We practiced that a few times and we got moderately better. After supper, at 1900, we went for a nice run, which was mixed in with situps, pushups and chinups. This lasted about 45 minutes and then we had two hours of free time.

11 JULY 97

We got up for P.T. but instead of a run we did a light jog and about twenty minutes worth of sprint races and competition relays. At B-21, in the morning, we were introduced to ramp jumps on a CC-130 rather than troop door jumps, and I must say that they are very interesting! In the afternoon we did a round robin of practice, with the subjects being flight, rear landings and jumping from the aircraft mock-up. After supper, at 1900, we left for our one-hour P.T. class. It turned into a 55 min. run and we covered around 7 miles. I would just like to say that the entire course’s bodies hurt like hell, mine included, but I am still one of the front runners. When we were done, we had two hours of free time, where a lot of us practiced what we had been taught, washed, or simply lay around.

12 JULY 97

We were allowed to sleep in an extra half-hour as we had no P.T. We went to breakfast and then it was off to B-21 to practice more landings, flight procedures and aircraft drills until lunch. After lunch we had a one-hour introduction to the mock tower, then it was back to the barracks to change into P.T. gear for the airborne fitness test. It included a one-mile run in under seven and a half minutes, seven chinups and 31 situps. I did really well as usual! Afterwards we had free time since this was a Saturday. For the most part, we are all going to nurse our sore bodies back to health for Monday’s training.

13 JULY 97

We were again allowed to sleep in until around 0715. We got up and went for breakfast, and since it was Sunday, we didn't have any training, so we just sat around for the morning. In the afternoon we went to the beach. The water was beautifully warm and most of us got some nice tans. In the evening we relaxed again, and mentally prepared ourselves for Mondays hell.

14 JULY 97

We woke up earlier than normal so we could do a sheet exchange. We did our morning P.T. as per usual, but as we were doing our cool down it started to pour. The rain ended our chances of going to the mock tower, so it was back to B-21. In the morning we practiced our flight procedures, landings and aircraft drills. Then after lunch we did P.O. checks on the above subjects. I passed all of mine, but my landings were a bit shaky. We were then dismissed for supper. I think that this is a great course if you want to lose weight, because most of us lose at least thre pounds of sweat every day! At 1900, we went for another hour of P.T. It was an easy run and there was a large focus on upper body exercise. Afterwards, we had another hour and a half of free time.

15 JULY 97

We got up for P.T., and we were run into the ground. We then went to breakfast and then it was off to the mock tower. For those that have never heard of a mock tower, here's what it is. It is a tower that is 32 feet high, which is the height of fear. The purpose of the mock tower is to simulate jumping out of an aircraft. Once you jump out, you slide down cables to a dirt mound a couple hundred feet away. From the ground 32 feet doesn't look to high, but once you're in the tower, hooked up, and standing in the door, it's high. We had to do well on three out of four jumps in order to achieve a standard. I had never seen a mock tower before, so I was scared. Our first jump wasn't counted, as it was our freebie. On my first jump, all my aircraft drills were really sloppy, and as I stood in the door waiting to hear the word "GO", I realized that that was the longest five seconds of my life. When I finally left the tower, as I fell, the only word I could really muster was "SHIT". That jump was marked "Not to Standard", and it was back up I went. My second, third, and fourth jumps were all good, so I passed that portion of the course. For the rest of the day I just ran the ropes. After supper, P.T. was cancelled so that we could rest since we had a third major P.T. test the next morning. The rest of the night was deemed a rest period.

16 JULY 97

We got up at 0500 so that we could do our last P.T. test here. We commenced at 0600. The pushups, situps and chinups were no problem, but then came the run. We all had to do the run at the same time, and finish all together. We started out alright, but as we went along, one guy fell back with a leg injury. Three of us stayed with him, but eventually we had to leave him. Turned out he had a stress fracture and left the same day. By the end of the run, we were pretty much dragging the slower people, and when we were done, about 37 out of 42 people crossed together in just under 30 minutes. After breakfast we went back to the mock tower. This time most of us practiced mass exits. My first three jumps were all to "standard", so I ran ropes for the rest of the day. A funny thing happened though. As one guy jumped, halfway through his deployment count, one of his risor connectors broke, and he was left hanging by one risor instead of two, 32 feet above the ground. After supper, we went for some light P.T., which consisted of a light run and some work on a mini obstacle course behind one of the shacks. Once that was done we had some more free time.

17 JULY 97

We woke up and had some light P.T., and then finished our last day of training here. The training included a full cleaning of B-21, and I also took a couple of pictures. The rest of the morning and a bit of the afternoon was for administration work. The rest of the afternoon was ours. After supper we did some more P.T., and then the night was ours.

18 JULY 97

We all slept in an extra hour, then got up for P.T. It was a nice relaxed run that I enjoyed, about 3.5 klicks and some chinups. We then went to breakfast, but when we came back, we had to sit in the hall as people were individually kit searched. They were looking for two cap badges which went missing in the first couple of days, and they never found. We then went to lunch, which shows how long the kit search lasted. After lunch, we did a quick cleanup of the shacks and then went to the beach. The water was nice and refreshing, but we got quite cool really quickly! After supper, we all packed and did a final cleaning of the shacks. Then we had a mail call, and before we went on our free time, we were issued our dog tags. On our free time, a bunch of us just spent time outside the CANEX and thought back to all the good times and funny moments over the past two weeks. We finally went inside because it got really cold there.

19 JULY 97

We got up at 0530 and dressed and got to the mess hall A.S.A.P. We had between 10 and 15 minutes to eat, and then back to the shacks for a final sweep and mopping. We boarded the bus and at 0730 we left for Canadian Parachute Center Trenton. We arrived at 1130. We got into our rooms and they were amazing. They were carpeted, four man rooms. Each man had a bed with drawers, closet space, his own desk and chair. Plus we all got our own key to the room. Then we went to the mess, but it's not a mess hall, it's a f!@#ing restaurant. You walk through, pick up what you want, then swipe a card through the computer. Everything is carpeted and restaurant looking, and they will even make food the way you want it. The funny thing is, there is a regular mess next door, but that is where the air cadets eat. For the rest of the afternoon, we just hung out and got accustomed to our surroundings. After supper we did some P.T. It was a nice, easy jog, and halfway through we did some pushups, something called the "Fred & Barney race" (wheelbarrow races) and then we had to run with the winners on our shoulders. After P.T., me and a few of the boys went to the swimming pool where the water was really nice, not to mention some of the air cadet females. We were back in the shacks at 2100, and most of us went to sleep around 2300.

20 JULY 97

We could have slept in until 0930 if we wanted to, but for the most part, most of us were awake or up by 0630 or 0700. We went to breakfast and then at 1000, we went for P.T. It consisted of a light jog, mixed in with a section relay race. The rest of the day we spent at the Junior Ranks mess or up in the shacks. After supper, we had a quick meeting with our new course warrant officer, W.O. Langtang. After that we stayed in the shacks and got our combats ready and told jokes. We all went to bed at a decent time that night because we had to get up at 0445 the next morning for our airborne fitness test.

21 JULY 97

We got up at 0445 so that we could do the P.T. test. I ran the one mile in 5 minutes 39 seconds. Our course W.O. set the pace for us. Before we left he said he'd run at a 5 minute 30 second pace, and he came in at 5 minutes 38 seconds. After breakfast we went over to the Canadian Parachute Center building. We were divided into four sections, met our instructors and did some administrative work. Next we were issued our personal kit which consisted of the following: rucksack, training harness and reserve parachute, helmet, PELS system, static line, snow shoes and bindings and a training (rubber) rifle. Next we learned how to put our training harnesses on, which we learned in Pet. Then we learned aircraft drill, which was only slightly modified from what we learned in Pet. After supper, we didn't have any P.T. because as we were told, "it's not our job to kill you on the first day"!

22 JULY 97

We were up again at 0500 for our morning P.T. We did a nice run followed by some ab exercises and one hundred pushups. When we went over to the training center, we first went to flight (5 points of flight procedure), then we practiced our exit drills and finally we went to landings. After lunch we learned how to rig our rucksacks for a jump. Then it was back to our exit drills. Finally it was time for P.T., but these days we run in our combats, minus our combat shirts and boots, for about four miles around part of the airport. Afterwards we went to supper, but I was too hungry to even bother to shower or change first.

23 JULY 97

Good day today. We were up at 0455 for our morning P.T., which consisted of a run and upper body and abdominal exercises. When we went to the training hanger we did flight, aircraft drills and two periods of landings. I am really getting good at those! After lunch, we learned how to rig our snowshoes and C-7 for a jump. Then we did more aircraft drills (mass jumps) and one more class of landings. I had a little problem though on my last landing. As I began to roll, the pulley system got stuck and halfway through my roll, I became stuck on my back like a turtle gets stuck. It was probably quite funny to anyone watching. Then we went for another run in our combats, and is it ever hot here. After that we all showered, changed into civies and went to supper, on our own time. We also lost one more man, so we class has dropped from 57 to 40.

24 JULY 97

We did morning P.T. at 0525, but this time we did it with the school's acting R.S.M. It was a good, half hour run. After breakfast, and during the rest of the training day, our lessons included flight (malfunctions), numerous classes with all of equipment (including flight), landings, which I was not doing well in, and we were introduced to aircraft drills involving 62 paratroopers (as opposed to 40). For our evening P.T. we went to the gym. We all looked out of place there in our combats.

25 JULY 97

This morning we again did P.T. at 0525. Our classes for the day included avoiding obstacles in the air, avoiding obstacles on the ground, aircraft drills, equipment and aircraft drills with full equipment. We also took a trip to the Canadian Forces Parachute Maintenance Depot. It was interesting because we could see how our parachutes were being packed. It was just another way to reassure us that our parachutes were safe and that we had nothing to worry about when it came time to jump. The building is neat, because not only do they pack parachutes for the entire Canadian army, but they also pack the SAR-Tech (Search and Rescue) parachutes and sometimes they pack for the Sky Hawks (parachute demonstration team). Our evening P.T. was really fun because it was a Friday, so we wrestled. The rest of the evening was ours to enjoy.

26 JULY 97

We left Trenton at 0800 for our trip to Toronto. We took a tour of the Skyydome and then went up into the CN Tower. We then went to a college in Aurora where we stayed the night. After supper, we went into New Market to go to the movies. I saw the movie "Contact", which isn't too bad.

27 JULY 97

We went to Canada's Wonderland today. Crowds weren't too bad, so I went on most of the rides. All in all, it was a pretty fun weekend, but training starts bright and early tomorrow.

28 JULY 97

We did a nice, quick paced run for P.T. this morning. Our classes in the morning were a review of landings, aircraft drills (door and ramp), and flight, which was learning how to land on or against on obstacle. Then we had a lecture on the running of the mock tower and a lesson for the abbreviated jump commands that are used in the mock tower. After lunch we went to the mock tower. It was single jumps and we had to pass 3 out of 4 jumps, or 4 out of 6 jumps, and we could do no more than 9 jumps. My first three were perfect so I ran ropes for the rest of the afternoon. Our evening P.T. consisted of another run in combats, but it was so hot outside. I became dehydrated very quickly. After the run we had the rest of the evening off, so we watched a movie. We have only three days left, then a P.O. day, and then if we pass, we go to Jump Stage!

29 JULY 97

We did some more brisk, early morning P.T. Our lessons consisted of landings, rigging our equipment, avoiding trees or wires when landing and emergency procedures during the flight of a CC-130. Those are really fun because we learned what to do in case the plane crashed on takeoff or in flight, or what to do in case the plane had to ditch. We also learned how to perform an emergency evacuation from the plane while still in flight. After lunch we went right back to the mock tower to do our mass jumps. Almost all of us passed our first three jumps. Then we did our afternoon P.T. and went to supper. After supper we watched the movie "SEVEN". I should tell you that I suffered my first injuries of the course today. I got a couple of bruises on my shoulders and riser burn, which is also known as an "airborne hickey" on my neck. I'm not the first to get it and definitely won' t be the last that will receive that. Tomorrow should be a fun day, I say this sarcastically, because we go to the mock tower with full equipment.

30 JULY 97

Last day of training!! Tomorrow is our review day and Friday we do the tests! This morning we did light P.T. because we were going to the mock tower with full equipment. Our lessons after breakfast were a review of mass door and ramp jumps and our emergency procedures. We also did landings while pulling a slip. In flight we learned how to prepare for an unintentional water landing. We also practiced rigging our kit. In the afternoon we went to the mock tower to do our jumps to do our jumps with equipment. It's really quite cumbersome up in the tower, but once you're out, you can really move down the line. I passed both of my jumps with no problems, but I almost broke my knees on the first jump while passing over the mound. The last couple of days here have been great and I have seen so many things happen, like one of the French guys get kicked off the mound by one of the other jumpers (he took a combat boot square in the chest) or I saw a guy tumble down from the top of the mound in full equipment. It took quite a while for him to sort himself out and get back up. But at least we were all still in good spirits!!

31 JULY 97

We got up again for P.T. at 0500. It was a good run with a lot of upper body exercises. During the morning we practiced landings, flight, aircraft drills and equipment. We also learned how to pack our parachutes once we got onto the DZ (drop zone). After lunch we had our pictures taken, and then we did practice P.O. checks on landings and flight (the two hardest subjects). I passed both of those, so as long as I don't have a major brain-fart tomorrow, I'll be fine. After those were done, people went and worked on the areas that they had a problem with. Since me and another guy didn't have any problems, we rigged everybody else's kit in the section. I was also made the section senior because of another guys screw-up. He accidentally locked the keys in the cage, so Sgt. Hunt fired him and hired me. We also got a new guy in our section today because we are the smallest section. He's a Sgt in 2CER, and was on the last jump course until he broke his ankle on the second jump, so he'll complete the course with us. The night was the same as usual, but everybody is really excited!

1 AUG 97

Well this is it, it was P.O. day and all 40 of us passed with hardly any problems at all. Landings, flight, aircraft drills and equipment were no problem, so we all move on to J-stage. With that said, I have no idea how many are going to be left at the end of the course because after lunch we drove out to the DZ and it looks pretty rough. It's nothing more than a farmers field. It's about one click long, and three hundred meters wide. One half is an old hay field, then in the middle is a dirt road that runs parallel to the DZ, and then beside that is a rough plowed up dirt field. At the very end of the field is potato and soy bean plants. I can see a couple of people getting injured. After seeing that, we went back to the training hanger and for the first time we put on an actual CT-1 parachute. Then we went outside and took a tour of a CC-130 Hercules aircraft. We saw how everything worked, from the wind deflectors on the sides of the Herc to the seatbelts. It was pretty amazing stuff, to realize that in just over 50 hours we would jumping from a plane. Next we went back and had supper, then chillaxed for the rest of the weekend.

2 AUG 97

Nothing interesting happened today. We had no P.T. or no reveille hour, as long as we were up by 0900, and ready to board the bus, because we went to the beach today. It was a really nice beach but the water was cold. It was a really relaxing day and tomorrow should mostly be the same.

3 AUG 97

We had the same timings today as yesterday, but we only stayed at the beach for half a day. The beach just wasn't as good as yesterday. We played some soccer on the beach, and then we started building sand castles, but one thing led to another, and it just turned into one big mud fight. It was really fun! We went back to the shacks and cleaned ourselves up, but the rest of the day just went by so slowly. Tomorrow we do our first jump and everybody is both excited and nervous. The excitement made for a very long night.

4 AUG 97

Today was the most fun I have ever had. We woke up at 0430, and the air was filled with both excitement and tension. We had a quick breakfast and were at the hanger by 0545 and put our parachutes on. By 0645 we loaded up the Herc. Walking across the tarmac for the first time with full parachute equipment on, heading towards the Herc is one memory that I will never forget. Once we were loaded I knew I wanted out. It was hot and cramped, and when the engines were started, it pretty much ended any normal conversations because it was loud. After about ten minutes of flight, the red light came on, meaning we were ten minutes away from the DZ. We stood up and did our normal equipment checks, and we were ready to go. We were being dropped by sections, and since I was in 3 section I had to wait for the third pass. On the fifth pass we got the green light. My section shuffled down the starboard side of the plane, I got to the door, threw my static line, pivoted into the door and was gone. The first parachute jump is totally indescribable. One second it was windy and loud enough to prevent normal conversations, and the next second I was floating silently to the ground. I couldn't believe that I had jump from a military plane. Then I landed. I landed alright, but I didn't have the momentum to complete my roll, so I just sort of stopped. I collapsed my chute and hiked the three quarters of a click back to the DZ shack. Then it was on the bus for a 45 minute drive back to Trenton. When we got inside we grabbed our rucksacks and donned another parachute, then it was back into the plane for our second jump. This time it was even more cramped than before, and I definitely wanted the hell out. I got my wish soon enough, and this time I was out on the first pass. This time when I landed, I landed fairly hard. I was all set up for a nice roll, when about 10 feet from the ground there was a wind shift and I hit my heels first, then ass and then I was dragged on my back about 10 feet before I hit a rut, but it was fun! I ran back to the DZ shack and then it was back to Trenton. Once back, we went to lunch and then at 1330 we went back to the hanger to re-rig all of our kit, because tomorrow we are supposed to do three more jumps. That could be the course. But until then, we simply went back to the shacks to relax and shed off some of our adrenaline. AIRBORNE!!

5 AUG 97

We got up at 0400 so that we could be at the hanger for 0430. We loaded up the Herc at 0600. We took off but immediately had to land to check the engines because we had hit a bird. When the O.K. was given, we took off again. We got the red light so we stood up and checked ourselves over. I was the second man on the port side so I could look right out the door. It is quite a thrill to look down and see all the houses and cars 1200 feet below you. "STAND-BY!" was called and the first man was in the door, and I was ready. As soon as the green was given, the first man was gone, and in a flash so was I. As my canopy deployed, I looked down and had no idea where I was. All I saw was a barn, silos and a lot of farm vehicles right below me. Before I could do anything, another jumper was pretty much sliding off my canopy. I pulled hard rear slips so that I could drift away from the barn. I finally lowered my equipment no higher than 150 feet and saw that I was heading straight for a transport truck. All I could do was ready myself for an obstacle landing. I ended up landing on the top of the trailer, sliding on an angle from one side to the other, and the only thing that prevented me from falling off was the equipment that I lowered got hung up on the side of the trailer, preventing me from falling! The good thing was I could get up and walk away, and any jump you can walk away from is a good jump, and secondly, by landing on the trailer, I had a great seat to watch the second drop. I wasn't the only person that got screwed up on this jump. The guy that left before me, landed in a swamp. The first man out on starboard landed in a scrap metal pile, the second landed about ten feet from me and the third person (one of our females) lost her helmet at over 1200 feet and landed in some trees. As everybody came in I sat on top of the trailer with a big smile on my face, because I didn't have to walk anywhere. Finally we got ourselves sorted out and on the bus, headed back to Trenton. We got back, unloaded our kit, re-rigged it, and then had a couple of minutes to grab a quick breakfast. Then it was back to the hanger to put on another parachute. Our second jump of the day was a ramp jump. Because you can only put one stick out at a time on a ramp jump and the port side goes first (I was starboard), I had to wait for the second pass. It is an amazing site when the ramp opens up and you can look out at the town below. I always wondered what the people down below must have thought. The jump itself is really cool because there is no turbulence or prop blast at the rear, and when you jump, it is just like riding a huge waterslide! On this jump, I had a really landing. We got back, did the head count and were on the bus back to Trenton. We unloaded our kit, re-rigged it, put it away, and the rest of the day was ours. So far we have done four jumps, and you need five to qualify as a Basic Parachutist, so we only need one more, but guess what, it's a night jump. But as you can imagine, we were all pretty excited, and it was a wild night with not much sleep.

6 AUG 97

We are AIRBORNE!! All of us. We got up at 0100 for our night jump. I think we jumped at 0330. The problem was that we had an entirely new crew, and they switched the DZ around. All I kept thinking about was that would put me really close to the end of the DZ, and guess what else, the trailer. I was number 18 in my stick, and the DZ was shortened for the night drop, was we got a stop drop. On the second pass, with only two knot winds, I left the plane and had my smoothest exit yet. The landing was even better. A night jump is a most awesome and beautiful experience, because off in the distance you could see the lights of Trenton on one side, and the lights of Picton on the other. As my chute deployed, I turned myself around and I saw something really amazing. The plane was silhouetted against the night sky, and I could see the last couple of parachutes as they left the plane. It was truly beautiful. We got back to trucks and had a briefing, where we were told that we all had gotten our wings. A large cheer went up, where we were all told to shut up because normal people were still sleeping. Once we got back to Trenton, we went to breakfast, then went back to the hanger to get ready for a ramp jump with no equipment. I was second on the starboard side, so on the stand-by command, I was standing about 12 inches from the edge of the ramp. It is really cool because I could look down at the town below as we flew over at 120 knots. As soon as we got the green I was gone. Our side was so fast that we got all 20 people out in one pass, while the port side had to do a second drop with about five people left. When we got back to the hanger we did a little clean up, then went to lunch. The rest of the afternoon people tried to sleep, to make up for what they had lost since Monday.

7 AUG 97

We got up at 0430 and went to breakfast. At 0530 we went to the hanger to suit up for what would be our last two jumps. We left the runway and I was number 19 in my stick. I figured that there would be a stop drop and I would have to wait, by when I got to the door it was still green, so I left. I had a nice ride down while it lasted, because we jumped at 1000 ft instead of the usual 1250 ft, and I had a good landing. On our second jump, we went up to 12 500 ft so most of our instructors, plus two SAR techs, could practice their free-fall techniques. Then, as soon as the ramp closed, it was back down, and I mean back down, to 1250 ft and it was our turn. We must be getting pretty good because we got 40 jumpers out (the whole plane) on the first pass. The instructors said that that didn't happen too often. When we got back to the hanger we handed in our reserves and went to lunch. After lunch we went back to the hanger to check and prep all of the gear that we used for the next course. We watched a movie on the history of the airborne forces, which was really quite interesting. Then at 1600, all of us students and the staff that worked with us got together for pizza and to talk. When we went back to the shacks, me and a couple of the boys went to the gym for a work-out (we haven’t done P.T. for almost a week now) and there were two nice woman there, our age too! When we got back to the shacks, it was time to pack.

8 AUG 97

Well this is it. All we did was pack up whatever we had left and cleaned up the shacks. Then we sat around talking. Nobody said it outright, but you could tell that people were a little sad that we would all be at home in the next 48 hours.We left Trenton at 1315 for the long ride up to Connaught and arrived at 1630. We quickly had supper, changed into our uniforms and had a parade rehearsal. After it was over, without being there for more than three hours, and without yet leaving the parade square, we were labeled as the camp "bad guys" and our whole company was given a lecture. The rest of the night went without much incident. (My tent was only yelled at a few times to be quiet and turn out the lights!)

9 AUG 97

We all got up at 0530 because reveille wasn't until 0600 so we could a little P.T., make some noise, wake everyone else up early and just be an annoyance. Parade started at 0945 and generally went smoothly. The general arrived, then five minutes later, a bunch of our instructors did a free fall jump in at 12 500 ft. It was a good demonstration but not as good as what came next. We were presented our wings by a couple of veterans, members of the original 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion. The parade ended, and after saying my good-byes to all the friends I had made over the last five weeks, I left. I got home at 2000 and so ended the best, most exciting summer of my life!

As this is written...

Summer is long over and school has started, but I continually think about the course and the friends I made. I still practice my flight drills and practice my landing techniques, and I think the next challenge for me to conquer is getting into one of the jump companies. Over the summer, after being exposed to an actual regular force course, I fully realized that this is the life for me. I never had so much pride in our armed forces and it would be an honour if I could ever wear a maroon beret.