MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII -- At heights of 12,500 ft, the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team will descend on the “Blues on the Bay” air show Oct. 13-14. Parachutes wide open, 82nd Airborne Division soldiers jump at the chance to complete their mission.
Based at Fort Bragg, N.C., the first team formed in 1959 for international competition.
The Golden Knights grew from its original 13-member team to more than 30 jumpers in teams for competition and demonstration. The unit’s Black Team will perform here in free fall descending at more than 120 mph, said Army Sgt. Ryan Stewart, demonstrator, Golden Knights Parachute Team.
“We’ll be doing what’s called a full show at the base,” Steward said. “It’s going to start off with a baton pass, where two jumpers will exit separately and spiral. They’ll be passing a 14-inch mahogany baton, and the baton will be presented to an audience member at the end of the show. Then we’ll do other formations as well.”
Demonstration teams also perform “mass shows,” where performers huddle together to form geometric patterns during free fall. Performers tour with the team for about three years, and some soldiers continue in other positions with the unit.
Stewart, who was a demonstrator with the Black Team, said a few join the unit’s competition sections. The sergeant said he made the cut because of his love of skydiving and determination to be a dependable teammate.
“I was in the airborne school for 82nd Airborne Division,” he said. “After doing two tours in Iraq, I’d come back, and I’d meet a new friend who was going through sky diving training. I just loved airborne school so much, and my friends pushed me to try out for the team.”
The chance to skydive and be the face of the Army is always appealing, said Sgt. 1st Class Tommy Sullivan, drop zone safety officer, Golden Knights Parachute Team. Another former demonstrator, he performs emergency medical support and manages passenger manifests for the team.
He said skydiving is one of the safest sports, and the Golden Knights continually train with the proper safety measures. The team executes an estimated 10,000 jumps yearly, and Sullivan said the most common injury is a sprained ankle.
Stewart said skydiving feels like standing in the back of a moving pickup truck with the wind pushing past. Both the
Stewart and Sullivan agreed it’s an amazing firsthand experience.
“You’re flying up there,” the sergeant first class said. “You’re in control of how you fly. It’s a different sensation than being on an airplane. Then when you get together with other jumpers to make geometrical shapes, you just have this wonderful feeling.”
The drop zone safety officer said being part of the Army parachute team gives its members something more incredible than the delight of skydiving.
“Once you’re on the Army parachute team – you’re part of an elite group of roughly 1,000 people,” he said. “We all have similar interests and passions, so it’s a tight-knit group. These people have the same mission you do, and it’s just the greatest place to work. I don’t plan on quitting anytime soon.”