Airborne soldiers

Military Parachute Training Began in Australia in 1942 With the Paratroop Training Unit at Raaf Laverton, Victoria. In 1951 a Joint Raaf/army Parachute Training Wing Was Established at Raaf Williamtown, Near Newcastle, and in 1958 Was Re-designated Parachute Training Flight, Under the Air Support Unit.

Responsibility for Parachute Training Was Handed Over to the Army in 1974 and Saw Pts Established While Still at Raaf Williamtown. Then in 1986 Pts Relocated to Its Purpose-built Facility the Naval Air Station at Hmas Albatross, Nowra, on the Nsw South Coast.

Courses

The 72 Staff at Pts Train on Average 700 Paratroopers Per Year in Static Line and Free-fall Parachuting – the Two Parachute Methods the Army Uses to Tactically Insert Paratroopers on to the Battlefield or Accurately on to a Specific Target.

“we Have Broken Our Courses and Instructors Into a Static Line Cell and a Free-fall Cell for the Two Kinds of Parachute Training We Do,” Explained Ltcol Simon Bonavita, Commanding Officer of Pts. “you Generally Can’t Get on to a Parachute Course Unless You Have a Demonstrable Need to Do Parachuting. If Someone Has Just Been Picked to Go to One of the Airborne Units or Has Done the Selection Course for Special Air Service (Sas) or Commandos Then They Will Be on a Course.”

Pts Has Four Types of Static Line Courses for Infantrymen With Various Levels of Army Experience to Progress on to Their Next Level of Training or for Re-currency.

Static Line Courses Include the Basic Parachute Course (Bpc), Drop Zone Safety Officer, Parachute Jumpmaster Static Line and Parachute Jump Instructor Courses, With Some Courses Running Concurrently.

“a Lot of Infantrymen Want to Be in Special Forces, Said Ltcol Bonavita. “those That Are Good Enough Are Allowed to Attempt the Selection Process, Which is Very Difficult and Quite Tough, and When They Have Been Selected They Then Undertake a Number of Courses to Get the Special Forces Skills They Need – One of Those Courses is Parachuting.”

Five Bpcs Are Run Each Year at Pts Which Qualify Up to 72 Soldiers as Paratroopers Per Course in Two and Half Weeks.

“on the Bpc We Need One Instructor Per Seven Students, Whereas for the More Advanced Free-fall Courses We Need Two Instructors Per Student,” Said Ltcol Bonavita.

The First Week of the Bpc Sees Students Engage in Theory Lessons and Train for Their First Jump Using Several Ground Based Training Aids. Of Prominence Are the Exit Tower, Which Replicates the Rear Fuselage of a C-130 Hercules, and the Parachute Tower, Designed for Students to Practice Landing Techniques.

Students Jump From the Exit Tower Attached to a Cable Like a Giant Flying Fox to Rehearse Their Exit Drills Under a Canopy.
The Parachute Tower Stands at Around 30m High. Students Are Winched to the Top in Their Parachute Harness and Then Lowered to the Ground at Variable Speeds to Simulate a Range of Landing Forces.

In the Second Week of Bpc Students Will Do Their First Jump on to a Drop Zone in the Confines of Hmas Albatross. Using Large Circular-shaped Static Line Parachutes (Which Have a Limited Amount of Steerable Control), the Parachute’s Release Cord is Tethered to a Static Line Onboard the Aircraft, Opening the Rig as the Paratrooper Exits. Students Conduct Two Descents a Day, Including Jumps at Night, Until the End of the Course.

To Pass the Bpc, Students Must Complete Three Clean Fatigue Jumps (Without Weapon or Pack) and Three Combat Equipment Jumps (With Weapon and Pack), Including a Combat Night Jump and a Side Door Jump.

Following the Bpc, Paratroopers Progressing to Become Sas or Commando Soldiers Complete a Water Module Course to Learn Water Entry Skills. The Inviting Waters of Jervis Bay, Nearby to the Pts, Acts as the Drop Zone With Each Paratrooper Making Two Water Descents by Day and One by Night for the One Week Course.

Pts Hosts Two Free-fall Courses a Year With Parachute Riggers, Sas/commando Trainees and Pts Instructors Undertaking the Course. Free-fall Course Students Will Complete Around 50 Descents Which Include Jumping at Night, in a Team of Up to Five, and With Combat Equipment on to a Restricted Drop Zone Area.

Rectangular-shaped Free-fall Parachutes, Deployed by the Paratrooper and Offering a High Amount of Steerable Control, Enable Army’s Commando and Sas Soldiers to Land Accurately on a Target Area.

Once Military Free-fall Qualified, Commando and Sas Paratroopers Progress to High Altitude-low Opening (Halo) or High Altitude-high Opening (Haho) Training.

Using Breathing Apparatus, Free-fall Halo/haho Paratroopers Jump From Heights of 25,000ft to 35,000ft – a Capability Used to Maximise Stealth and Surprise.

Military Support Services

In the Past Pts Relied Upon the Raaf C-130 Hercules and Dhc-4 Caribou Airlifters to Drop Its Students. However, With Air Force’s Commitments to Conflicts in the Middle East and Reduced Aircraft Availability, Pts Now Uses Two Vh Registered Casa C-212-200s (Pictured Opposite) Operated by Queensland Based Military Support Services (Mss).

Mss Began a Five Plus Two Year Contract in February 2007 to Supply Army With Aircraft Exclusively for Its Parachute Operations at Pts, to Support Other Operational Parachute Units Within the Army, and as the Drop Aircraft for the Red Berets Parachute Display Team.

“army Required an Aircraft With a Rear Ramp, Side Door, Side-facing Seating, Turboprop Powered and the Ability to Conduct Parachute Operations From 25,000ft,” Said Alan Trickey, Ceo of Military Support Services. “the Casas Were the Aircraft Type That Cost-effectively Replicated the Features of the Hercules and Caribou for Parachute Operations.”

Able to Carry to 24 Paratroopers, Depending on the Configuration of the Equipment the Jumpers Are Carrying, the Casas Can Operate Out of Short and Rough Airstrips and Have an Endurance of About Four and Half Hours.

Imported From a Parachute Operator in North Carolina in the Us for the Army Contract, Mss’s 212s Are Fitted With Specific Military Navigation Equipment and an Oxygen System for High Altitude Operations.

Mss Employs Seven Ex-military and Civilian Pilots to Fly the Casas. Trickey, Himself an Ex-military Qfi With 16,000 Hours Experience and a Parachute Instructor With 650 Jumps Logged, Says the Military Background and Experience of Mss Has Helped to Understand and Meet Army’s Parachute Training Requirements.

“we Spend a Lot of Time Away From Nowra and the Pts,” Explained Trickey. “the Red Berets Do a Lot of Displays Around the Country Throughout the Year at Various Events Including Indy on the Gold Coast, and the Afl and Nrl Grand Finals.”

Mss Uses the Callsigns ‘nadzab 1’ and ‘nadzab 2’ for Its Casas, a Tribute to the New Guinea Township Where Australian Paratroopers Were Used for the First Time as an Attacking Force During the Battle of Nadzab in Ww2.

“we Often Get Asked About the Call Sign While Flying Through Airspace Other Than at Nowra”, Said Trickey. “the Controllers Who Question the Callsign Are Quite Satisfied to Hear About Its Origin as It’s a Callsign They Don’t Usually Get to Hear.”

Mss’s Diverse Range of Flying Also Keeps Its Pilot Attrition Low.

“one Day You Could Be Dropping the Red Berets Over Darwin and the Next Involved in More Tactical Parachute Insertions on the Other Side of the Country,” Said Trickey. “this Makes It a Great Way to Retain Pilots as They Find This Kind of Flying Quite Interesting.”

“the Operational Side of Parachuting Can Be Inherently Dangerous So We Try and Keep a Fairly Experienced Pilot Base and Conduct Plenty of Training and Recurrency Training With Them.”

With Air Force Assets Particularly Busy and Operationally Focused at the Moment, Pts Found It More Difficult to Use Raaf Assets to Meet Its Training Requirements.

“i Think It’s Really Good That We Have the Contract With Mss,” Said Ltcol Bonavita. “it Allows Us to Free Up Assets for Other Priorities With in Defence.”

“the Relationship Between Us and the Mss Crews is Working Very Well, Which is Important for the School and It is Contributing to Army’s Capability. It’s Great to Have the Casas Because We Know We Can Rely on It and It’s Ours to Use. As a Consequence All Our Courses Will Finish on Time.

“since Starting the Contract Our Availability Rate Has Been 100 Per Cent,” Continued Trickey. “we Put This Down to the Reliability of the 212s and Our Whole Team.”

Subject to Operational Requirements Mss’s Two Casas Accumulate Between 600 and 1000 Hours Per Year Flying for Pts and Other Army Units.

“because We Operate With Mss So Much We Have Become Very Efficient in Making Sure We Can Get Our Training Done. Having Said That It’s Very Important We Operate With the Raaf.”

Pts Strives to Get Available Air Force Airlift Assets Involved in Its Parachute Courses to Give Students Exposure to Working With Operational Military Aircraft and Air Force Pilots the Opportunity to Be Involved in Parachuting Operations.

“there is a Bit of a Balancing Act Between Using the Two Operators (Raaf and Mss) and I Think We Are Achieving the Right Balance.
“we Are More Interested in the Parachute Technique Rather Than the Aircraft but the Platform is Important and Wherever Possible We Make Sure We Get an Air Force Aircraft in.”

Being Able to Jump Out of an Aircraft is Half of the Capability. Air Force Aircrews Also Need to Be Qualified for, and Require Exposure and Experience With, Parachute Operations.

“on Every Basic Parachute Course We Make Sure We Get the C-130s Involved Towards the End of the Descent Phase,” Explained Ltcol Bonavita. “we Like the Students to Experience Jumping Out of Simultaneous Doors. Its the Only Aircraft That Will Give Them the Opportunity of a Simultaneous Door Jump. If One is Not Available Then They Can Still Be Qualified With a Door Jump From the Casa.

Another Advantage for Pts Using the Hercules is That the Aircraft Can Accommodate More Paratroopers.

“in a Short Space of Time or on One Pass We Can Get More Guys Out Than We Can Using the Casa. It Can Be Particularly Useful if We Have a Lot of Guys on a Course.”

Mss Conducts Its Own in-house Check and Training for Its Pilots in the Down Time Usually During the Ground Schooling Phases of Pts’s Courses.

Virtual Reality Parachuting

In Early December Pts Took Delivery of a Virtual Reality Parachute System (Vrps) for Use on Its Free-fall Courses.

Vrps Comprises Free-fall Parachute Harnesses Suspended in a Frame Connected to a Computer via Input Sensors. Students Wear a Head Mounted Display to View High Definition Graphics and Can Communicate Through an Attached Headset.

Vrps Will Be Used for the First Time During a Free-fall Course in February, With Up to Six Trainee Paratroopers Networked Together on the Vrps at One Time Allowing for Simulated Team Jumps.

“it Will Allow Them to Practice and Rehearse How to Follow a Team Leader After They Get Out of the Aircraft and Then Fly on to the Designated Target,” Said Ltcol Bonavita. “the More Practice and Exposure You’ve Got the More Likely You Are to Recognise the Scenario When You’re Actually in It and Act Accordingly.”

All of the Drop Zones Pts Uses Will Be Loaded Into Vrps, Providing Students With a New Element of Training Before They Get Under a Canopy.

Vrps Will Also Provide Added Safety Training to Reinforce Pts’s Record of 400,000 Accident-free Descents.

“when You Look Up at Your Parachute in Vrps You Be Able to See Exactly What a Particular Malfunction Looks Like and Learn How to Fix It Correctly,” Said Ltcol Bonavita. “so When the Guys Are Out Into the Real World, Should They Have a Malfunction, Their Vrps Experience Will Help Them Fix It.”

Parachute Riggers

After Every Jump Each Parachute is Inspected and Carefully Repacked by a Parachute Rigger – an Adf Trade in Demand for Personnel Due to a High Attrition Rate.

A Course of 72 Students, Each Doing Two Jumps a Day, Requires 144 Rigs to Be Repacked and Made Ready for the Next Jump.

During a Water Modification Course the Unused Spare Parachutes Also Need to Be Repacked After Being Washed and Dried, Further Adding to the Number of Rigs Requiring Repacking.

A Static Line Rig Takes About 10-15 Minutes to Be Repacked, With Each Rigger Limited to Packing 15 Parachutes Per Day Due to Physical and Mental Fatigue. For Obvious Reasons a Rigger Must Be Alert and Remain Diligent During the Repacking of Rigs.

All the Jumps a Rig Does Are Logged, and Once a Static Line Rig Has Reached Its Service Life – Around Xxx Openings – It Will Be Removed From Service or Used for Light Cargo Stores Dropping. Expired Free-fall Rigs Are Either Destroyed or Used as Static Training Aids.

Future of Operations

Pts Will Soon Have the Ability to Use the Raaf’s C-17 Globemasters for Parachute Training Once the Aircraft Attain Operational Clearances for Parachute Operations. “we Are Waiting for the C-17 to Be Cleared for Us to Jump Out of,” Said Ltcol Bonavita. “it’s Not Too Far Away in the Future Before We Do and It Will Be Great for Operations and Exercises.”

Army’s Parachute Capability Continues to Play an Integral Part in the Adf’s War Fighting Structure and Attracts a Lot of Interest From Its Soldiers Who Want to Jump for a Living.

“some People Pay to Go Parachuting but Here These Guys Get Paid to Do It,” Quipped Ltcol Bonavita.

“if You Look at Other Armies I Think You Will Find That Just About Every Western Nation Maintains a Parachute Capability. The Adf Will Continue to Maintain Its Parachute Capability Well Into the Future.”

And for That, the Pts and Mss’s Casas Will Continue to Play an Integral Roles.