"He that hath no stomach to this fight, let him depart" - King Henry V

"It doesn't matter what you think, you don't get paid to do that."

quote:

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Originally posted by CB

BNZ:

In round figures, we hit at 17-22 feet per second. That's equal to a jump from 3-6 feet. So unfold your step ladder, climb up to the three foot level, jump off.
Daylight, BDU's and boots, no problem. You can even land standing up.
Now try the four foot level, at night, backwards. Not too difficult, the ground will rise up and smack you, every once in a while you will twist an ankle, but overall not bad.
Same four foot height, add LBE, and a rifle under your arm. Simulate wind drift: make the jump from the back of a moving pickup truck going 5 - 10 miles per hour. Jump off sideways, frontwards, and backwards. You will hit and tumble. At a minimum you will be bruised, a little sore. But you see you are now seriously at risk of breaking something.
Now go to the top of the 6 foot ladder. Daylight, boots and BDUs, no gear. Jump off. What a shock. Can't stand, but can probably roll and hop right back up again.

Finally, add the rifle, rucksack, etc., stand on the roof of a pickup truck, jump off while the truck is going 14 miles per hour (13 knots, max for training jumps). Try it from the six foot roof of a moving pickup truck, front, side or back, while blindfolded. Try it 20 times, chances are you will severely sprain or break something. And that's been the average I've seen for night combat equipment jumps in high winds. About one in 20 guys will sustain an injury that needs medical attention. And everybody will have bumps, bruises, strains, and damage that will slow them down.

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