OT: New obsession maybe: Skydiving

[SlowPokePete]

My next door neighbor was Airborne and parachuted into Grenada in the military.

He used to say there's only two things that fall out of the sky....

SPP

[alastair]

Originally Posted by skiezo

https://www.skydivemspc.com/learn-to-skydive
My last jump into a hot area was when I was 29 Aug 1993. Delta Force was pinned down and my platoon was a rapid reaction force. This was in Mogadishu and was called Operation Gothic Serpent. We were stationed in Italy and got the call to load up and a drop was scheduled 5 klicks outside Mogadishu. We lost 18 with dozens others wounded. I was one of the medics on that mission, treated a bunch of troops and lost a few. Got my second purple heart there as I was shot but still continued fighting and treating others. That bullet stayed inside me for years after till it came to the surface and was extracted.
30+yrs later some things about that mission still haunt me.
I never did watch the movie.

Oh wow. I knew a few guys that were in Mogadishu in 1993 but never realized the QRF included rangers, or that they arrived during the battle itself. I thought the QRF was only the guys from 1/325 that airlifted in over the next few days after the battle. I learned something new today.

I hope you enjoy your new hobby.

[DeBike]

I have don it only once, over Oahu from 14,000 feet. I was with 3 of my closest friends, one with terminal cancer. It is certainly an exciting thing to do, not just the jump. The whole process, from the time I booked it, all the way through to having a nice lunch after the event, is one of the most memorable things I have done.
I knew it was a one time jump for me. I have chronic spine and shoulder issues, but it was something I wanted to do with my dieing freind. And, I adopted his cat, now 6 years with me.

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by skiezo

https://www.skydivemspc.com/learn-to-skydive
My last jump into a hot area was when I was 29 Aug 1993. Delta Force was pinned down and my platoon was a rapid reaction force. This was in Mogadishu and was called Operation Gothic Serpent. We were stationed in Italy and got the call to load up and a drop was scheduled 5 klicks outside Mogadishu. We lost 18 with dozens others wounded. I was one of the medics on that mission, treated a bunch of troops and lost a few. Got my second purple heart there as I was shot but still continued fighting and treating others. That bullet stayed inside me for years after till it came to the surface and was extracted.
30+yrs later some things about that mission still haunt me.
I never did watch the movie.

A brutal day that shouldn't have happened if the current administration had provided the tools asked for by the task force. That was 2 years before my entry into that world. Met several of the leaders years later when our unit's SGM retired (one of Delta's first members) and they came up for his retirement ceremony. Hat's off to you. You guys were truly the superior force that day despite the overwhelming numbers against you.