The Jump [Ethically Speaking

Abstract

At the age of 18, I attended the United States Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, GA. Our training was three weeks long. During Ground Week, we engaged in a challenging physical-fitness regimen, as well as intensive training for making parachute jumps and safe landings. We practiced the parachute landing fall (PLF) over and over again, so we would not get hurt when hitting the ground (this assumes your chute successfully deployed). This first week is like the first part of life: you learn and start becoming competent. During Tower Week, week two, we jumped from the 34-foot tower and the 250-foot tower. The 34-foot tower is probably similar to bungee jumping, because we jumped out a door with a strap attached to us. I probably looked pretty funny, screaming and fl ailing as I plummeted toward the ground in my first jump from the tower, before being saved by the strap attached to my harness. I got pretty good at it, though, and the fear went away. This week is similar to the middle of life: you get married, have kids, become productive members of society, etc. In Jump Week, week three, we completed five jumps from a C-130 or C-141 aircraft. Jumping from an airplane is a very unnatural thing to do. Jump week is like the last part of life after the kids graduate, parents die, friends get dreaded diseases, etc.