Jump

Mom's Report

Graham's summer at the United States Air Force Academy is segmented into three different three week periods. 

1. Summer Session #1 was June 1 through June 22. During this time period, Graham was in training for parachuting.
2. Summer Session #2 is June 22 through July 14. During this time, Graham will be in Expeditionary, Survival and Evasion Training (ESET). Basically, survival training turned up to ten.
3. Summer Session #3 will be July 14 through August 3rd. Graham will enjoy three weeks at home of actual vacation. 

Jackie's father, Al Dohn, used the GI Bill after his service in WWII to train as an airplane mechanic. Al passed away before Graham was accepted to the Academy but he would have found it highly amusing that his grandson would enjoy jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. Al is just a couple of years older than Graham in this photo. They were about the same size and body shape. Al's Army jacket would fit Graham today.

Grandpa Al

Cadet Maas on the far right with his jump squadron

Jump Report
Cadet Maas recently earned his “Jump Wings” at the United States Air Force Academy. This is one of the more challenging programs provided by USAFA, Airmanship 490 or AM-490, is a Basic Freefall Parachuting Program that the Academy offers, and it is the core mission of the Wings of Blue and the 98th Training Squadron.

Cadet Maas after his first ever jump

All the Cadets on the Wings of Blue team are certified AM-490 Instructors and Jumpmasters. Its purpose is to develop leadership traits through overcoming their own fears. Cadets are given instruction in basic free fall parachuting and familiarization with emergency parachuting. The successful completion of five jumps results in award of the Air Force basic parachutist badge "Jump Wings", which Cadets can wear on their uniform for the rest of their Air Force career. This is completed during summer before sophomore year and fulfills one of the few military training requirements that Cadets at USAFA have. Several hundred Cadets over the course of this summer will have to "STAND IN THE DOOR." 

The video below is actual footage of Cadet Maas performing a free fall. (Mom's note: There is nothing more terrifying than watching your child plummet to the ground - other than watching it over and over again.)

A typical week down at AM-490 for the summer periods involves Ground Training from Monday to Wednesday and then first thing Thursday morning the Cadets are bussed up to Denver to experience a Wind-Tunnel and then brought back down to the Academy to begin jumping. The second week is specifically for the Cadets and Staff going through AM-490 to have multiple jump opportunities until they achieve their 5th and final jump.

All smiles after another jump.

Cadets at the Air Force Academy have an opportunity to learn about the military application and sport of parachuting. While never losing its fundamental drama, parachuting has progressed to become much more than jumping from an airplane, pulling a ripcord, and hoping and praying for the best.

Colorado Springs serves as a beautiful backdrop for jumping.

Parachuting at the Air Force Academy began more than 30 years ago. Each year, 500 cadets complete five freefall jumps in the basic freefall parachuting course and earn the parachutist badge and rating. The Air Force Academy parachute team is one of two places in the Department of Defense authorized to issue the basic parachute badge. The Air Force Academy also has the only school in the United States authorized to allow students to perform unassisted freefall delays on their first jump, without any prior static line training.

Cadet Maas approaching the landing site.

It is a rigorous training schedule with heavy emphasis on safety. Before cadets make their first jump, they are drilled in ground school for more than 33 hours on proper parachuting procedures. The repetition is intended to have the jumper respond automatically and correctly should something unexpected occur during a jump.

Mom & Dad like seeing smiles. 

All jump photos that we could find are located here.

Wings of Blue Performance Team

Cadets who successfully complete the basic freefall course are eligible to try out for the advanced training necessary to possibly upgrade to the Air Force Academy parachute team, the "Wings of Blue." Those who want advanced training must compete for admission. Selection is based upon an individual's maturity, abilities, and academic and military standing. Cadet Maas is currently considering applying for the performance team. 

To see a ESPN video on the Wings of Blue, click here.

The advanced training consists of more than 150 freefall jumps that teach cadets the techniques required to control their bodies in freefall. This training allows jumpers to perform such maneuvers as turns, front and back loops, barrel rolls, and relative work formations.

During the advanced course, cadets transition from a large docile square canopy used in the basic course to the high-performance square canopy used by Wings of Blue. This canopy has a vertical descent rate of 2-16 feet per second and can reach forward speeds of up to 30 miles per hour.

The advanced course also includes intensive practice in the jumpmaster and instructor techniques used by Wings of Blue in order to train students in the basic freefall parachuting course.

The "Wings of Blue" has been one of the outstanding parachute units in the country during the past two decades. Since 1967, cadets have dominated national intercollegiate parachuting championships, typically winning decisively over the other 40 schools. The team has won 21 of the 27 national championships. Additionally, they perform about 50 demonstrations each year that has included the Copper Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Pro Bowl. The team travels locally, nationally, and now internationally to perform in these varied air shows. 1997 was the first year the team traveled internationally when it performed for the Japanese/American Friendship Festival in Yokota, Japan, which is now an annual event.

The parachute team, because of its diverse mission, is divided into a demonstration team and a competition team. Advising and supervising the team is a very small group of active duty Air Force commissioned and NCOs.

Each cadet member of the team must be a qualified jumpmaster and instructor in the Air Force Academy parachuting program. They must also maintain high academic and military standards to remain with the team. Members of the parachute team average about 600 jumps by the time they graduate.

The "Wings of Blue" jumps from a variety of aircraft, however the team primarily uses its own DeHavilland UV-18B Twin Otters.

Up Next

From June 22 until July 14, Cadet Maas will be going through Expeditionary, Survival and Evasion Training (ESET) as a third-class cadet. He will find out what it takes to operate in austere environments supporting the Air Force mission. Contingency experienced personnel will teach expeditionary and battlefield Airman skill sets such as setting up modular facilities and contingency utilities, passive defense, force protection, secure individual and team movement, survival and evasion skills and much more. 

This unique training begins with conceptual employment of forces to personal, hands-on experiential Air Expeditionary Force deployment. This is also the beginning of his Commissioning Education (CE) program to prepare him for the next two years of cadet life and as a commissioned officer. Third-class CE concentrates on the transition from follower to leader.  As a third-class cadet, the main goal is to become an effective military role model or coach for the fourth-class cadets as they learn and apply effective teaching, training and mentoring skills. 

From what we’ve heard, they will be in the wood sleeping on the ground. No tent, no sleeping bag. They may also find themselves in POW situations and placed into confinement to experience life as a POW.