Heavy winds cause JBLM paratroopers to get stuck in trees
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JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. (AP) - The Army says firefighters have rescued three paratroopers who got stuck in trees after they jumped from an aircraft in a training exercise in Washington state.
Joint Base Lewis-McChord spokesman Joe Piek said all three were unhurt after getting stuck in trees near one of the base's drop zones on a windy Thursday afternoon.
Piek didn't have many details but says the big, wide-open drop zones are surrounded by trees, and parachutes can drift off course if winds change or increase during a jump.
Piek says firefighters from both Thurston County and the base responded.
The rescue took place in a thickly wooded area near the town of Rainier.
Joint Base Lewis-McChord spokesman Joe Piek said all three were unhurt after getting stuck in trees near one of the base's drop zones on a windy Thursday afternoon.
Piek didn't have many details but says the big, wide-open drop zones are surrounded by trees, and parachutes can drift off course if winds change or increase during a jump.
Piek says firefighters from both Thurston County and the base responded.
The rescue took place in a thickly wooded area near the town of Rainier.
Those look like the new T-11 chutes which are a little more steerable than the old T-10s.
How about giving these guys chutes that they can actually turn... The 40s was a long time ago
Sounds cool but when jump 100 up to 1000 troops at time to much
Maneuverability is a bad thing.
This is what happens when the guy with wind gauge hides on the leeward side of the HUMVEE.. LOL
Station in Arkansas (FT. Chaffee) once landed in a trailer park hit my knee on a bird bath! Ah good times...
LOL all's well that ends well! That's called experience. A Combat Jump you could find yourself spread all over the place, in trees, on roof's. In Savannah LOLÂ
I'm sure these guys will be talking about that jump for some time to come. Good times :-)
1st Bat monkey? I was at Hunter 94-96 RTFU
Um in combat are they going to call 911 to rescue them if they get stuck in trees? sheesh. Figure it out Troop how to self extricate from tree.
@Exiled_Patriot This was my first thought, too. I doubt if an enemy fire department would rush out to cut them out of a tree! Should've been an excellent training experience.
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@HaggbergConsult Are you on the bridge or witnessing what's happening?
@AlexaVaughn several SPD cars, aid vehicles were visible going to accident, NB cars were turning around on bridge.
@AlexaVaughn on the bridge on a bus, accident just ahead.
@HaggbergConsult http://t.co/RoeHtprver
@AlexaVaughn actually, it's already 'out there" so go for it, thanks for asking nicely :-)
@HaggbergConsult Can I pretty please use your whole name and link to your Twitter account?
@AlexaVaughn twitter ID OK too
@AlexaVaughn first name only will be OK
@HaggbergConsult Can I mention you in our post about the crash?
@AlexaVaughn large panel truck and pickup truck involved.. pickup at 90 degree angle. Sorry, couldn't get a photo
@AlexaVaughn bus driver told us it's a head on DUI :-(
@HaggbergConsult Thank you!
@AlexaVaughn can"t see from where I am, I gather it's 2 cars. If the nice bus driver lets us off the bus i'll let u know
@HaggbergConsult What kinds of vehicles are involved?
I remember when I was stationed in Savannah GA. We did a jump in higher winds. Over half of the chalk ended up landing in Savannah itself and some ended up on the roof of the mall. That was fun.Â
@JeepRex glad you missed the fences!!!
Dangerous duty. Thank you for serving.
Good training. Not every jump goes as planned.
Theres a technique to use your reserve chute to climb down, however depending on the tree's height, you might just be SOL and undo your connections
During WWII, in the invasion of Normandy, a unit got dropped in the wrong area, and some were shot by the NAZIS on the way down, but one got stuck on a church spire. I'm not sure what you can do if the wind is too strong except pray. Some who got stuck on spires were also discovered and shot dead where they were from the ground. You have to practice these things to get any competency, and it takes more a little guts to jump out of an aircraft into enemy territory. So I would ridicule them.
@Common-Tater Private John M Steele, 1912-1969. I tried to paste the link of the soldier with the photo.
correction ... I would NOT ridicule them.
@Common-TaterYou are right, it takes more than a little guts to jump out of an aircraft into enemy territory. Â It was the luck of the draw--you bailed not knowing what was going to happen. Â My pilot dad bailed from a plane on fire over Nazi Germany - was taken POW, 1 of only 3 to survive (good thing, or I would not be writing this). Â He always saw everything after that as bonus, lived to a very ripe old age--miss the old guy.....Anyone who will bail from a plane under warfare is tough!
What do they do when they drop in behind enemy lines?
@Jeff Valdez and get stuck?
die or be taken prisoner. That's why they are our elite troops
â@stormchaser4850: Heavy winds caused Army paratroopers to get stuck in trees in Washington state this afternoon http://t.co/rQl4yS8atYâoops
@komonews so when in combat they'll have to call the "local" fire dept to recuse rhem~get them down?
Um, don't they have procedures for dealing with this very situation? Hey bad guy! Time out! Don't shoot me or the firefighters coming to rescue me. Once I'm down on the ground then we can start again!
Oops.... Better luck next time!  :D)
this happens frequently at fort bragg. not sure how the news found out.
I certainly hope all three of them are billed for the rescue.
@dylandawgie They should bill you for protecting your right to say idiotic things.
Bet their unit won't let them live this down for a long time.
Why is this newsworthy?
@bobalouie Why isn't it?
"BLM spokesman Joe Piek said he didn't have many details about what happened Thursday afternoon"
Maybe?
"jumping from a plane on a windy day in Washington state"
I hope there are no serious injuries. It's easy to forget that these paratroopers may be only 18 or 19 years old and are doing things that would scare the you-know-what out of most of us.
Where is the Army ground team covering the drop zone? budget cuts already...
...while en route to "rescue" these paratroopers search and rescue discovered the answer to an age old question....and yes a bear does s**t in the woods!
Â
@aintno1special So does a paratrooper when he sees the tree coming. Hopefull, all's well that ends well.
@MikeCoomer @aintno1special OH OH..when a paratrooper gets stuck in a tree in the woods and no one is around does he make a sound?
@aintno1special Hmmm...that question is as difficult to answer as the age old how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop. The world may never know.
In a bit of a hurry again to get the story out first KOMO? Have another look with spellcheck, I have never heard of a "rescue work". But then again, you guys are First 4 News.