You may recall Reed showed us the place where he conducted a rough terrain jump when we visited Fort Bragg last month. Recently, Reed sent photos providing more detail.
These men are in harnesses from which they practice repelling to the earth, simulating a parachute landing.
Soldiers prepare to board the C-130 transport plane. Why would anyone want to jump out of a perfectly good plane? Reed responds: "Most who ask that question have never flown on an air force aircraft. It's generally much more comfortable floating in mid air outside of the aircraft than it is inside of it. No AC or padded seats, just a lot of noise and a web seat that attempts to cube you and your gear during the flight. Don't forget about the weight of a rucksack (back pack) two parachutes (main and reserve) 'rough terrain' suit and harness = about 200 lbs of stuff strapped to you. Since you're about to jump out of an airplane it's strapped pretty tight, too. I can't wait to jump ... every time."
When there is a little down time, soldiers catch up their sleep.
Making a rough terrain jump is better than landing on hard ground, Reed said, because there is no hard impact.
The goal is to get your chute caught in the branches which breaks your fall. The chutes are ruined, Reed said, so these jumps are less frequent than non-rough terrain jumps.
Reed "lands" safely in the forest.
Reed gives a hand signal [which signified something unprintable in my younger days] indicating he is fine. If you think this isn't adventurous enough an activity, stay tuned--Reed plans to hunt bear in northern Minnesota later this summer.