Day 1 – arrival, setting up camp 16th August
On the first day, cadets arrived at the CCF hut in the afternoon with their bags and full of excitement. They then headed down to the Army Parachuting Association Netheravon and set up camp before dark. Afterwards we headed into the local village to get pizza for dinner after the long drive down and relaxed around dinner with an amazing view over the surrounding fields and bright stars.
Day 2 – Training day!
Day two started bright and early, starting with a quick breakfast in town, before we began our static line jump training. The team met the instructor, John (who was very lively!), and got stuck in with the training. The training lasted the whole day, with a quick stop to the mess room for lunch half way through the day. The training included every scenario, including deployment drills, the positioning when exiting the aircraft door and the one I’m sure everyone will remember, 1,000, 2,000, 3,000…. Some of the scenarios put a few worried faces on people! The day ended with watching the national skydiving contest go up for their jumps, a dinner in the mess room and a quick trip to see Stonehenge as it was on our doorstep.
Day 3 – Jumping day (not quite)
The day began with a bright and early wake up, filled with excitement for some and nerves for others. We had breakfast before our jump and headed over to the sky diving hanger. We met up with John again and had our reminder course before getting our parachutes. We then eagerly waited to jump whilst watching the national championships again.
However the wind then picked up when we were due to go and we were grounded despite everyone’s frustration. Instead we got a nice photo with our jumpsuits and parachutes before de-kitting. We stayed for a couple of hours hoping the wind may drop, however it was not on our side. We said goodbye to John and headed back to school on Sunday afternoon with the jump pencilled into the diary for October 2024.
Sergeant G Bullock
