ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla -- A sea of camouflage shows all different walks of life. Men and women feeling nervous and excited, some leaning more towards nervous, and they are all there to do one thing: jump out of a flying metal object 1,000 feet in the sky.
Airmen from the 58th Airlift Squadron teamed up with soldiers from the 7th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne) at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas, to complete airborne training qualifications, Texas, Aug 6, 2021.
One C-17 Globemaster III flew to NAS JRB Fort Worth to pick up approximately 60 soldiers, then flew to the drop zone in Mineral Wealth, Texas where 45 soldiers safely jumped out of the C-17 to the landing zone.
“The airborne soldiers complete this training annually to maintain proficiency and refresh any jumpmasters,” said Command Sergeant Major Billy Lambert, 7th POG(A) command sergeant major.
The airborne solders were not the only ones to benefit from the training, as 58th AS aircrew members also completed proficiencies and qualifications to prepare for future real-world scenarios.
“We need to maintain proficiency in personnel airdrops,” said Capt. Ryan Schieber, 58th Airlift Squadron training officer. “Additionally, our loadmasters have qualifications for dropping jumpers, so we completed that.”
Among the soldiers were jumpmasters, who Specialist Shaun Ortega called “masters of the air.” Ortega, a 7th POG(A) psychological operations specialist, said working side by side with the Air Force enables his childhood dream come true.
“I am doing airborne qualifications because I want to become a jumpmaster,” said Ortega. “I think it's really cool that we keep up the tradition that's been going on since World War II. It has always been my dream since I was a kid.”