LOOSE "LEG STRAPS" OR JUMP PROCEDURES?
February 27, 1996.
A young Paratrooper exits poorly from a C-130 Hercules at night and gets tangled in parachute suspension lines, preventing his parachute from opening completely and hindering him from deploying his reserve and falls to his death. A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by the Fort Bragg POST newspaper obtains the complete accident report, which when studied in detail reveals that he had a number of minor discrepancies missed during JumpMaster Personnel Inspection (JMPI). None of the Jumpmasters on board his plane admits to performing JMPI to the fallen Soldier. He was a "stranger" from another unit. If his "leg straps" were loose and the contributing factor to the fatality as the Army report insinuates, why hasn't the jumpmaster who did SPC Figueroa's JMPI been identified? Probably because as the physical evidence documented on his person by photos and eyewitnesses on the drop zone shows both of his "leg straps" (Harness Single Point Release (HSPR) leg straps wrapped around his ruck and his parachute harness leg straps) were tight. Loose leg straps didn't kill SPC Figueroa, loose procedures did. If you are going to blame the individual jumper for loose "leg straps" then you've got to blame the jumpmasters. If you don't want to hold the jumpmasters accountable because the leg straps were tight then you have to stop blaming the jumper--you cannot have "loose leg straps" as a convenient excuse and not blame those responsible--if the regulations make the jumper the "fall guy" -- a dead man not here to defend him/herself then its time to close the "loophole" and make the primary jumpmaster responsible for everything as it should be.
STREAMLINE THE PARATROOPER NOW
The problem here is a lack of situational awareness by all parties involved. The truth is that the current Airborne operation is bedeviled by a host of self-inflicted complications that needs to be fixed. Paratroopers are carrying too much gear that clutters their exits and are being held in uncomfortable harnesses for too long until jump time, and are thus not fully alert upon exit. The new walking exit procedure is rehearsed without stressing tight body positions at the mock door during pre-jump...and if you tumble on your exit at night you will not have the time to react by sight to a total malfunction as you would during a day jump. Realizing all this, there are steps we can take NOW to prevent tragedies. The best medicine is PREVENTION.
We need to push for a streamlined military static-line parachute that has the reserve integral to the main at the rear, with kit bag stowed in an inner pocket with a shock-absorbing honeycomb pad to cushion a fall in event of a hard landing. Often just a little bit of padding can mean the differance between life and death since it is possible to survive an impact after a near-total malfunction. Until then, every item of clutter needs to be removed: kit bags stowed in a BDU trouser pocket or outer rucksack pocket. Field Protective masks on the LBE belt or in the rucksack. Camel-Bak drink-on-the-move water bladders used from inside the rucksack instead of issue 2 quart canteens flopping loose and jutting out from the rucksack. M4 5.56mm carbines utilized so the M1950 weapons cases can be omitted as much as possible from the clutter of gear shuffling to the jump doors. New 3 point suspension chinstraps and shock pads in the PASGT kevlar helmets so helmets stay on and pad the Paratrooper's heads. The 82d Airborne Division and USSOCOM Airborne SOPs should be amended to insist that these safety measures are taken.
The Army is going along with a usmc designed MOLLE rucksack that is so big you cannot raise your head with it on to fire your weapon while in the prone. In fact, it is larger than the current large ALICE rucksack and will be filled with even more gear to overload and slow the Paratrooper down to nil mobility. Being longer and with a detachable daypack, this rucksack is making the same mistake as the Combat Field Pack Large Internal Frame (FPLIF) that preceeded it; it will be too long to jump safely without dragging along the aircraft floor. A 1st TSG (A) staff member writes:
"I've got some comments on streamlining Paratroopers. In '90, the only unit in our division with the new Lowe internal frame ruck, [FPLIF] was XXX LRSD. On a jump, a young recon guy had a very bad exit, got all twisted, died. His whale of a ruck was packed to the rucks full extension, over 7,000ci's, which is huge by even the largest mountaineering packs. Being winter, and him being LRSD, his ruck weighed well over 100lbs. not to mention the rest of his gear. A combo of the weight, and the top of his ruck dragging on the ground, caused his death, as confirmed by ABN Committe investigators. Thankfully XXX XXXXX made sure the XXXX remained with ALICE Larges, when the other inf bn's got the new Lowes. I do believe LRSD stayed with the Lowes. During a JRTC rotation, I was scared of heat injury with the big temp difference, so I ended up using all my own purchased water blivets, jumping in 10qts of water. Feeling bad for my AG, and my new TM LDR on his cherry jump, I jumped their mortar rounds, and I managed to procure 400 extra rounds for my pig. Along with most of the gunners in my bn, I do not break down my [M-60 Medium Machine Gun] "pig", to better fit in a 1950 (I prefer to land with weapon intact). We were jumped by XXXX pilots, just getting qualified to jump Paratroopers, so we had to stand at an actual 10 minutes. I slugged out, and could just not physically stand straight up with all this combined, so I made my way towards the door, stooped, and 1950 slightly dragging. I had the worst exist of my life, hit the aircraft, and woke up on the DZ, a little sore, but good to go."
It seems clear that weight like mortar rounds should be removed from the individual Paratrooper and placed together in a door bundle with an All-Terrain, All-Purpose Cart (ATAC) that would be slid out the jump door just before or after the stick using a piece of truck bed liner plastic for directional sliding without getting stuck in the door. The U.S. Army should insist that new rucks be shorter and not just go along with what non-Airborne units might be conjuring up for equipment. The Soldier's load CAN be solved by living with LESS and SMALLER equipment, not be increasing our gear size and volume.
JUMPMASTER QUALIFIED PERSONNEL SITUATIONALLY AWARE
While the "official" Jumpmasters and Safeties wear colored arm bands, other Jumpmaster qualified parachutists not in official Jumpmaster/Safety positions for the flight--jumpers themselves--are often encouraged to JMPI other jumpers. If this is to continue and not restrict JMPI to just the primary/assistant and Safeties with recognizable arm bands then everyone who is JMPIed needs to be marked so we know who JMPIed them. A chalk mark on the BDU pocket with the first letter of the jumpmaster's last or first name will suffice.
To know who the non-official Jumpmasters are we should change the Army parachute badge so that all Jumpmasters school graduates receive a star over their jump wing regardless of the number of jumps the have. The current arrangement delays the award of the Senior Parachutist rating to a specified number of jumps etc. so there is a large number of Paratroopers who are Jumpmasters but wear only basic parachutist wings indistinguishable from those they may be JMPIing.
Basic jump wings
"Jumpmaster" wingsAs long as you are a "current" Jumpmaster you can wear the wings with a star over it. These would be called "Jumpmaster parachute badge". This will provide an incentive for those to become jumpmasters by passing the difficult JM course and to stay "current". JM-qualified jumpers reporting in at manifest call could then be identified and given a piece of chalk/code letter if they are going to do other jumper's JMPI.
Then after performing a prescribed number of jumps (33 total: 15--Combat Equipment Jumps 2--Mass Tactical Jumps 1--Night Jump & 1 Night Jumpmaster 14--Jumps of your choice) you get a "Senior parachutist" rating which is a star with a wreath.
Then to become a "Master parachutist" you perform the 65 specified jumps (25--Combat Equipment Jumps 5--Mass Tactical Jumps 3--Night Jump & 1 Night Jumpmaster 31--Jumps of your choice) and get a star with a GOLD wreath over your wings. The only change is the addition of jump wings with a gold wreath.
"Senior" jump wings
New "Master" wings
As it is now, you cannot tell who is and is not a Jumpmaster if the Jumpmaster does not have the required number of/type jumps. Those that are Jumpmasters only and those that are Jumpmasters and Senior or Master parachutists need to be differentiated. Write to the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry and encourage this insignia change:
Mr. Thomas B. Proffitt
Chief
Heraldic Services & Support Divison
Department of the Army
The Institute of Heraldry
9325 Gunston Road, Room 5117
Fort Belvois, VA 22060-5579
STRANGERS ON AN AIRCRAFT? INEXPERIENCED JUMPERS?
JM personnel need to know who they are jumping with so they can place them in the stick where they will be the safest. Lightest jumpers should jump last. Inexperienced jumpers also towards the back in case they do get towed and have to be pulled back in, this can happen quickly by the Jumpmaster and not have to wait for the stick to jump before recognizing the problem as the towed jumper is banged against the aircraft. To do this, we need to amend the DA 1306 "Jump and Loading Manifest" which hasn't changed since 1 May 1963! The DA 1306 should have blocks added for the right/left door, the # of jumps the Paratrooper has, his height/weight in addition to the data already requested. How this form should look is depicted below:
CHANGES TO USAF JUMP AIRCRAFT
The U.S. Army must insist with cooperation of the U.S. Air Force that lines be painted on their jump aircraft floors (C-17, C-130, C-141B) showing a 20-40 degree "corridor" so Paratroopers can execute better precision when doing walking exits.
[NOTE: with the new jump procedures it would be a 90 degree markings]
In conjunction with this, in the mock door pre-jump training, JM qualified personnel must insist jumpers snap into a tight body position and count upon leaving the door and HOLD THIS AND HOP FORWARD until the 4 second count is done, not just walk through it half-hearted. You can see the effects from the DZ through binoculars and/or 35mm camera that jumpers upon exit are not holding their knife edge body positions long enough to facilitate a clean exit and parachute deployment without spinning and tumbling. The U.S. Air Force should be asked to provide an actual surplus C-130 Hercules fuselage to Eubanks Field at U.S. Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia so students can practice mock door procedures in the exact craft instead of wooden replicas to reduce the "fear factor" and increase knowledge and skill. The USAF recently installed a C-130 static display at its air park at tiny Pope AFB, so C-130 airframes shouldn't be too hard to come by.
UPDATE 2000
>
1. The Commandant USAIS, LTG LeMoyne directs implementation of the new exit procedures effective 1 JAN 01. The Static Line Integrated Concept Team (SL ICT) recommended that the exit procedure from the C-17, C-130, and C-141 be changed from the current technique of the jumper executing a half-right or half-left turn towards the door and walking out of the aircraft, to the jumper executing a left or right turn as appropriate, continuing to the open Paratroop door, and with both hands on and over the ends of the reserve parachute and fingers spread, the jumper will exit vigorously, jumping UP and OUT away from the aircraft. The SL ICT determined that a contributing factor to wear on the static line was weak exit procedures
2. Exit Procedure Sequence, from FM 57-220, Chapters 5, 10, and 26:
- No change to the jump commands.
- Jumpers will use a shuffle step when moving towards the door; the foot closest to the skin of the aircraft is the lead foot.
- As the jumpers begin to shuffle, they will straighten the arm controlling their static line. The jumper arrives in vicinity of the jumpmaster safety with proper interval and his arm fully extended.
- The jumper making eye-to-eye contact with the Safety will pass his static line to the Safety.
- The jumper will then execute a left or right turn as appropriate and will face directly towards and centered on the Paratroop door. With both hands on and over the ends of the reserve parachute and fingers spread, the jumper will continue the momentum of his/her movement by walking towards the Paratroop door, eyes focused on the horizon. The jumper will push off with either foot and will vigorously jump UP and OUT away from the aircraft and snap into a good tight body position.
- All other points of performance remain the same
3. Final date for concur/ non-concur for USAF/ USN/ USMC on the Coordinating Draft of FM 57-220 is 1 NOV 00. The final publication date for the new FM 57-220 is scheduled for 15 JAN 01.
4. POC is MAJ Burns; DSN: 835-5033/6017, COMM: 706-545-6017; e-mail: burnsf@benning.army.mil.