Skydiving with the Golden Knights

During the recent Joint Services Air Show at Andrews Air Force Base, I was able to ride along with the Army’s special parachute demonstration team, the Golden Knights.

The Golden Knights parachute team was formed in 1969 and consists of about 90 men and women stationed at Ft. Bragg in North Carolina.  But not all of the group actually jump out of planes.  About half of the team’s personnel handle support and logistics both on the ground and in the air for the 2 competitive skydiving teams, the 2 demonstration skydiving teams (Black and Gold teams) and the tandem team designed to allow news media and VIPs, such as President George H. Bush to experience the thrill of skydiving. You may recall President Bush’s much publicized jumps on his 75th and 80th birthdays with the Golden Knights.

My plane ride started with a somewhat intense safety briefing on the ground, which included the distribution of air sickness bags.  After climbing into a Golden Knight’s black jumpsuit, I strapped myself and my camera into the olive drab canvas and metal frame seat facing inward, just a few feet from the rear doors of the aircraft.

As the pilots started their take off, the ground rushed past as the team’s twin-engine Fokker C-31A Troopship raced down the runway and took off from Andrews.

The plane quickly climbed to 12,500 feet as the team stared to prepare for its jump.  The temperature quickly dropped from a comfortable 75 degrees on the ground, to the lower 40s as we climbed to altitude.  Having the doors open didn’t help keep us warm, but it did offer some great views as the plane made sharp turns as we climbed and circled the jump site.

Onboard with us, besides the Black Team and the 2 pilots were a local news reporter, who would be jumping tandem (attached to one of the Knights) along with a couple of military photographers and videographers.

Surprisingly, only one of the pilots had been skydiving (just once) and the other mentioned he had never jumped out of a plane and seemed content keeping his current status. “But who’ll fly the plane?” he answered when I asked why he had never taken a jump with the team.

While the team was suiting up, the mood was fun and relaxed which gave me an opportunity to speak with a couple of the team members over the roar of the engines.

The first was 24-year-old Specialist Brandie Phillips, a Radiology Technician, who was in her second year of the four year assignment with the Knights.  Before becoming a Knight, among other assignments, she was with the Army’s 101st Airborne “Screamin Eagles” Parachute  Demonstration Team.

The first thing you notice about all of the Knights is their warmth and friendliness.  And since the Knight’s main role is public relations and promoting the Army, Brandie was no exception.  Quick to smile, you could tell Phillips loved what she did.  She mentioned the best part of being a Golden Knight was not the thrill of jumping out of planes, but once she got down on the ground and was able to interact with the public.  With over 700 jumps under her belt, she was one of the newer members of the team.

Another Knight, Desert Storm veteran Sergeant First Class Arlyn Slade is of all things, a Parachute Maintenance Technician and with over 900 jumps, a Military free fall Jumpmaster. He mentioned that after 20 years in the Army, this is the ideal way to end his career.

The team is led by Team Leader SFC Will Fleming, a Signal Support Systems Supervisor, with close to 9,000 jumps during his 21 year Army career.  That’s over one jump per day on average over his career.

Sergeant Rachel Haddon, who conducted our pre-flight briefing, is a Combat Medic in her first year on the team.  After a 13-month deployment in Iraq, she returned to Ft. Brag and completed the rigorous 8-week training program to get “knighted.”

When asked about people’s reactions when Haddon tells people she is a member of the Golden Knights, she stated that most people didn’t realize that women were allowed to either jump out of planes in the Army or be on the Golden Knights.

She said it was not big deal, as women have been jumping for the Knights since 1977.  She too loved the interaction with the public and the idea that they could be role models for young women interested in joining the Army.

There were lots of smiles, joking and high-fives all around but once we hit 12,500 feet, every jumper had their nose to the window.  Before jumping, the team tosses out a series of streamers to measure the wind speed and drift, so that the parachutists can all “hit them mark, a small 10-foot-by-10-foot square landing zone, each within a 10 second window of the previous jumper.

In the photo above, two of the team are kneeling and leaning out the door (and hanging on to only the edge of the door) watching as the streamers drift downward.   I suspected that one good bounce of turbulence could have tossed either of them overboard at any moment.

Once the winds were ascertained and a final equipment check, the tandem team made it way to the door. At the count of “One, two, threeeeee…” they were out the door. (top photo)

Minutes later the remaining team members, after high fives and fist bumps all around, bunched themselves at both doors, counted down and all dove out in unison.  Watching four of them standing outside the door for what seemed like minutes gave me shivers, while the other waited for the signal to go.

One moment they were there, the next, the plane was eerily empty.

With the doors now closed, the plane did a quick 90-second stomach retching corkscrew dive down to the deck to do a flying pass over the runway, just as the first Knights were hitting their landing zone.

To become a Knight, the team holds annual tryouts with an intensive selection program.  Qualified Army men and women are invited to attend the mentally and physically grueling 8-week course.  Those that pass, get “knighted” and remain on the team for 4 years.

The main role of the Knights is public relations and recruiting for the Army. And each of the knights I met were classic Army recruiting poster material.  Educated, articulate, in shape and highly personable. They made the experience fun, informative and exciting.

It was a rush of an experience and I never even unbelted my seatbelt until I was safely down on the ground.  I can only imagine the fun the Knights have skydiving on a regular basis.   I thank them for the experience and a truely great ride.

Images – Joshua David Photography @flickr, All others from personal collection – ©2010, Jon Rochetti