Army Aviation Jump School

There are a number of programs in the military and civilian life that require knowing how to jump out of an airplane and parachute to the ground. Military services require that this skill is known for its missions, and in civilian applications people take their parachute training and often teach it to others for recreation or other purposes. But the main place to receive jump training in the United States is at the U.S. Army Jump school.

The United States Army Airborne 1st Battalion, 507th Infantry is in charge of the Airborne School. They are the ones that conduct the training, running personnel through their paces as they learn the skills necessary to jump safely and efficiently. All four branches of the United States Military have representatives who teach on detachment with the Army Jump School. Instructors at the Army Airborne Jump School are known as “Sergeant Airborne” or “Black Hats.”

The U.S. Army teaches the basics, and they have a long history of teaching people how to jump out of airplanes, safely and with the proper safeguards. Many of the other services send their people to the U.S. Army Jump School for training. They teach other skills, but the thing that people mostly train for at the U.S. Army Jump School is to parachute out of a perfectly good aircraft, how to do it right, and how to land safely.

The paratrooper, whether in the U.S. Army or one of its sister services, is one of a very vital job skills to have. It gives the United States an edge over many countries in ability to deliver men, materials, and equipment on site swiftly, on time, on mission and on budget. Delivery by parachute gives flexibility where there is no ability to arrive on foot because of dangerous conditions, terrain, or other situations or conditions on the ground.

Navy SEALS attend jump school at Fort Benning, Georgia on a regular basis. Other Navy personnel such as aircrews, special boat crewmen, even hospital corpsmen and medics train as paratroopers also. The jump school is an advanced course, but anyone with a military mission need to parachute out of an aircraft is likely to rotate through and be trained at the Army Jump School. Air Force Servicemembers also attend the Jump School. Security forces, aircrew, combat controllers, there is literally a host of jobs and specialties that at times send their personnel to the jump school program.

Participation in the Jump school program is not for anyone faint of heart. It is a three-week intensive training course, including daily physical training and fitness. It has three parts, Ground Week, followed by Tower Week. The last part is Jump Week.