- #Military freefall parachutes full
- #Military freefall parachutes license
- #Military freefall parachutes plus
Plus maybe the right people to back up my application.
#Military freefall parachutes license
…basically, I figured out that all I needed was a civilian skydiving license and 200 jumps logged. Since the military was starting to promote diversity, being a female non-combat arms reservist was a perk while applying to the public relations geared Skyhawks. And you can’t get a military freefall parachutist qualification without first having the basic parachutist. Better yet if you succeeded in the training camp and were selected for the team, they would course load you on a basic para course. Annnnd at the time, if you had a civilian skydiving license and a certain amount of jump experience then you can apply even without a military parachute qualification. It’s meant as a public relations vehicle for the military. The SkyHawks perform parabatics (canopy relative work) at different airshows and events. The military was however hurting for skydivers to join the Canadian Forces Parachute Team – the SkyHawks. Normally I would never in a zillion years be picked up for a basic para course let alone the military freefall parachutist. Like must goals from there on in, I reverse engineered that puppy until there was a clear path. Now how the holy hell was that going to happen? F*ck it, I wanted to be a military freefall parachutist, something that was considered even harder to achieve. So what if I was the trifecta of what the typical jumper wasn’t. Back then, nineteen year old me decided that I wanted that. A bond (or so I thought) in wearing that maroon tee to morning pt (physical training) and a set of para wings in uniform.Īdmittedly it’s a completely and utterly romanticized take on the whole affair, but no matter. But there was a pride about being a part of that group. I mean really, half the time it was just a bunch of young infantry boys horsing around and pushing the limits of the military’s disciplinary system.
It was during that time that there were glimpses of those airborne soldiers, the ones that in my young reservist mind, were the coolest kids in town. #zipperhead No time to rest, I had a career to carve out and an attitude (good and bad and…) big enough to take it on. Even managed to smash my damn face in a tank accident like a champ and return to work two days later. I was going to learn and aim high and excel.
#Military freefall parachutes full
So twenty-ish years ago (near choked on that one), while on contract on a base full of combat arms soldiers, there was no way you could let up. When really, the only issue is that you’re foolish enough to believe in the ‘less than’. You are told that you’re ‘less than’ and therefore aim to be ‘such much more than’. It’s a little bit like ‘short man syndrome’.
Alright, maybe not the world but it certainly felt like there was always a need to prove. What I did do though, was aim high, make boat loads of mistakes, never settle.Īs a reservist, a female, and a support trade…there was always something to prove to the world. In fact, while a speaker read out the highlights during a parade, my mother overhead a gobsmacked senior officer sitting beside her say “she stole my career”. My military career was as good as it gets.