Prettiest Skirt

THE PRETTIEST SKIRT


The roar of the four powerful Allison T56-A-15 turboprop engines mounted on the wide wings of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules droned incessantly in the paratrooper’s ears. His senses were filled with the combined smell of aviation fuel, oil, and the perspiration emitting from the heavily burdened soldiers wearing their canvas equipment. His mind repeatedly went over all the procedures he must execute to make a safe landing after he exits the aircraft and his main parachute successfully deploys. He also went over in his mind what he must do if the 'chute' malfunctions.

His father used to say, “There are only two things that fall from the sky; feathers and fools!” Pop would then ask him, “Why would anybody with good sense jump out of a perfectly good airplane?” The soldier would try to explain to his father that he became a paratrooper to prove to himself that he was a man of courage. He needed to know if he had the stuff to be able to overcome fear and do his job to the best of his ability. There were other reasons for his having taken up the gauntlet and face the challenges a paratrooper must conquer. Things like his love of his country and being a part of an elite group of men who could be counted on to help protect innocent women and children around the world from harm. He kept the mushy stuff to himself but they were strong, driving forces in his heart.

“Six minutes!” shouted the Jump Master over the roar of the engines. The paratrooper felt his stomach twist into a knot. Perspiration rolled down his forehead from under his helmet. The salty sweat stung his eyes. The hearty young soldier straightened up to ease the pressure on his body from the abundance of military equipment he was wearing. He glanced around at his fellow soldiers and saw the “game face” they put on to hide their fear. Even though he already had twenty eight jumps, he was still scared every time he boarded the aircraft. He had faith in his equipment and in his training, but there was always the possibility of the unexpected.

The young man let his mind wander back to his days in Jump School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He remembered the day in class that he learned the parts of the parachute. The main part of the parachute is called the Canopy. The bottom edge of the canopy is called the skirt. The soldier smiled as he recalled the instructor telling the paratrooper students, “After you exit the aircraft and look up to see that your canopy has properly deployed, it will be the prettiest skirt you’ll ever look under.”

“Three minutes!” shouted the Jump Master. The paratrooper took a deep breath and let it out slowly. A gospel song he had learned as a child came unexpectedly to mind. He let the hymn occupy his thoughts and softly hummed the tune, “Onward Christian Soldier” to himself

The Jump Master pointed toward the soldiers seated along the left and right sides of the aircraft and shouted as he pointed his thumbs upward “Outboard personnel stand up!” The soldiers along the sides of the aircraft struggled to their feet and faced toward the door at the rear of the aircraft.

Then, pointing toward the soldiers seated along the center of the aircraft, the instructor, attempting to shout over the roar of the engines, shouted as he pointed his thumbs upward once again, “Inboard personnel stand up!” The soldiers seated in the center of the aircraft rose to their feet. The soldiers at the other end of the aircraft could not hear the Jump Master but they could see his hand signals and knew from their training and experience exactly what to do.

“Hook up!” shouted the jump master as he made his index fingers into the shape of a hook and motioned up and down with his arms. The soldiers already had the hooks that were on the end of their static lines in their hands. They snapped the hooks onto the aircraft’s anchor cable. The anchor cable ran from one end of the plane to the other and when the soldiers jumped out the door, the anchor cable held the hook end of the static line. The static line is the yellow strap that pulled the parachute from the pack located on the back of the paratroopers.

“Check Static line!” shouted the instructor as he made his left and right hands make the shape of an “O” like an “OK” with his thumb and forefinger. He moved his arms straight in front of him and back toward his body, so the soldiers who could not hear him could see the signal.

Then, with his elbows raised and pointing left and right, the Jump Master would pat his chest with his hands. With this motion, he signaled and shouted, “Check equipment!” At that signal, every paratrooper would check the soldier in front of him to insure that the soldier’s equipment was properly rigged.

“Sound off for equipment check!” The Jump Master shouted with his hands cupped behind his ears, palms facing forward. Then, starting at the far end of the aircraft, each soldier would, in turn, shout, “OK!” “OK!” “OK!” etc. as he patted the parachute pack of the paratrooper in front of him to let that soldier know his equipment was “OK.”

The Jump Master then pointed toward the door and shouted, “Stand in the door!” At that command, the first soldier would step toward the open door with his right foot forward at the edge of the aircraft floor. At the same moment, he would grasp the left and right edges of the doorway with his hands and wait for the signal to jump from the aircraft.

The small light next to the door would change from red to green and the Jump Master would shout “GO!” At that moment, there is organized chaos as the soldiers push forward and exit the aircraft in a swiftly moving stream of humanity pouring out into the thin air and plunging toward the Earth.

Immediately, upon exiting the aircraft, the paratrooper would go into a good tight body position. Feet and knees together, chin down, elbows in, and his hands on the reserve parachute at his waist in front of him. He then counts, “One thousand, two thousand, three thousand, four thousand.” At that time, hopefully, the soldier would feel the tug of the main canopy as it deployed. He then looks up to check the canopy.

As our paratrooper looked up into the fully deployed, beautiful, silk canopy, he again smiled as he thought to himself, “Sarge was right. It is the prettiest skirt I’ve ever looked under.”