I just completed my first week at airborne school. It's been pretty fun, but not really what I expected.
First, we run everywhere, and I mean everywhere. After PT we run to breakfast, then we run to the training area, then we run to lunch, and so on... Not only that, but we do it wearing these seven pound helmets like a freaking pack of retards on a marathon or something. It's not that it's THAT tough or anything, it's just somewhat bothersome since I strained my right knee a few weeks before I came.
Second, we do pull-ups all day. I knew there would be some pull-ups involved, but I had no idea it would be ten before and after each meal- in addition to the ones we do at PT and in our harnesses.
Third, it's full of kids! Babies. I thought there would be more time to joke around and enjoy the training, but because of the distribution of rank I have to be a stick leader and babysit kids all day.
And finally, it's more painful than I thought. They're training us how to "land" a parachute that's descending at 22-feet per second! "Landing" is basically a nice way of saying "smashing into the ground so as to minimize the risk of SERIOUSLY hurting yourself." I say SERIOUSLY because no matter how you "land," it's going to hurt. It's like jumping off your roof and saying you flew. Stupid
Anyway, the first week included a basic familiarization, the mock door, 34-foot tower (shown above) as well as the lateral drift apparatus (a wheel we slide along on a suspended cable).
I'm just glad I finished the first week. One more week of tower training and then I'll be jumping out of planes (which I hear is relatively easy)!
