Air Raid Siren said:
OK Archmag, I have a question for you - I have some parachute patches that belonged to my dad. My sister and I divided them up as personal mementos to pass on to our kids one day, but I've always wondered (and he is no longer with us to ask) How does it work with them - do you get a patch every time you complete a jump?
The only things I've ever heard him tell about his jumping days are some pretty tall sounding tales of slicing off his ears because he didn't tuck his head properly and not feeling it or knowing they were hanging by a strand and bouncing around on his shoulders as he ran until he saw the faces of the peeps he was running towards......
uke: :zombie:
I will be happy to help!
Now first off I have to ask: Did he perform his parachute jumps in the U.S. Military? If not, all bets are off because, I really only have a detailed insight into the U.S. Airborne, and I dont know too much about foreign Army's standards, or civillian sky diving for that matter.
With that being said let me give you the skinny Airborne stuff as related to the U.S. Military.
1) There are no "patches" award for jumping. The only reference to a patch that you might hear about relating to Airborne are Unit patches. Now there are quite a few Unit patches out there that sport the "Airborne" tab. Only one of them is undeserved.
The 101st ceased being an "Airborne" unit in the 1970's when they became an "Air mobile" division. That means that they now repel from helicopters and no longer jump from perfectly good airplanes. They still sport the airborne tab for "historical" reasons. However, we all know that they are nasty legs now.
Some other more famous Airborne Units are as follows: 82nd (A division), 509 (A regiment), 507 (The official Airborne School training regiment though a full combat regiment in WWII), and the 173rd (A regiment).
2) There are awards for becoming a parachutist. This is the Army Airborne Wings. Here is a picture of these beautiful silver wings:
http://www.diggerhistory.info/images/uniforms4/airborne-wings.jpg
The two stars on those wings are for "Combat" jumps. There havent been a whole lot of these since WWII.
Once a person attends Jump Master School, then they have the possibility of earning two more sets of wings (they cannot be worn simultaneously, one set supercedes another). They are called Senior Wings and Master wings. A guy with a set of master wings is usually called a "Master Blaster":
Senior -
http://www.geocities.com/ivatroopie/seniorpara.jpg
Master -
http://www.qmfound.com/parachute_master.gif
Here is a great page on the history of airborne wings!
http://www.qmfound.com/parachute_badge.htm
3) Slicing your ears off from an improperly tucked head. I guess it's "possible" though HIGHLY unlikely. There is something called "Riser burn" that can happen (and has happened to me). This is where you dont have your head tucked in properly and the risers (two straps which connect the parachute suspension lines to the web harness) rub against your neck. Here is a picture of a "proper" exit from an aircraft:
Notice how he is starting to tuck his head as he walks off the ramp...
http://www.socom.mil/Gallery/Army/Parachute exit.jpg
This guy's going out with a good head tuck!
http://www.uwsp.edu/rotc/images/paratrooper.jpg
FYI, these two jump ictures are a special kind of jump called a "tailgate". This is unlikely to ever happen in combat in static line parachuting. Its reserved for "Fun jumps" for the most part. I have done three of these.
So was your father in the Airborne???
