thedrifter
02-20-09, 09:02 AM
Marine free-fall instructor to lead pack at Yuma air show
Story by Cpl. M. Daniel Sanchez
A group of five service members, including one Marine from Yuma Proving Ground's Military Freefall School, will open this year's air show March 14.
This will be the first year that freefall school instructors will showcase their skills at the air show.
Representatives from each service and one civilian will make up this year's performance team. Leading the pack will be Master Sgt. Michael Coleman, who will hand a special baton to one distinguished Yuma citizen.
Coleman will present the baton, which will be passed between each instructor in midair, to Kenneth H. Stevenson, an 84-year-old World War II veteran.
Stevenson was one of the first Marines to hit the beaches of Iwo Jima in 1945 as a platoon sergeant with the 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division, and one of Yuma's last remaining veterans of that era.
It's an honor to be recognized like that, said Stevenson. It shows just how respectful today's Marines are.
"They are more polite than I ever was," he said. "They are true Semper Fi Marines."
"I've done a few air shows before, but this is going to be pretty fun, especially being able to hand the baton to an Iwo Jima vet," said Coleman, who is jumping at the Yuma air show for the first time.
This is also going to be a good opportunity to show people what the Freefall School is about, said Coleman. Most people know about the Golden Knights, but they don't really know about the free-fall course.
"The big difference is that the free-fall shows (service members) how to insert behind enemy lines," said Coleman. "We also train them how to jump with a full combat load-a 50-pound pack, rifle and oxygen."
The free-fall team is scheduled to jump twice, once in the morning and once in afternoon. The first jump will include the American flag and smoke, while the second jump will only use smoke.
Coleman, a native of Gary, Ind., has been an instructor since 2006 and has approximately 2,500 jumps under his belt. He is also a certified tandem and bundle master, meaning he can jump with 300 to 500-pound barrels, and is one of seven Marine instructors at the school.
The Military Freefall School, part of the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, N.C., is a joint service training school covering all aspects of military free-fall parachuting through the basic, jumpmaster and advanced military free-fall courses. The classes teach students to use high-altitude, low-opening and high-altitude, high-opening parachuting techniques.
Ellie
Story by Cpl. M. Daniel Sanchez
A group of five service members, including one Marine from Yuma Proving Ground's Military Freefall School, will open this year's air show March 14.
This will be the first year that freefall school instructors will showcase their skills at the air show.
Representatives from each service and one civilian will make up this year's performance team. Leading the pack will be Master Sgt. Michael Coleman, who will hand a special baton to one distinguished Yuma citizen.
Coleman will present the baton, which will be passed between each instructor in midair, to Kenneth H. Stevenson, an 84-year-old World War II veteran.
Stevenson was one of the first Marines to hit the beaches of Iwo Jima in 1945 as a platoon sergeant with the 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division, and one of Yuma's last remaining veterans of that era.
It's an honor to be recognized like that, said Stevenson. It shows just how respectful today's Marines are.
"They are more polite than I ever was," he said. "They are true Semper Fi Marines."
"I've done a few air shows before, but this is going to be pretty fun, especially being able to hand the baton to an Iwo Jima vet," said Coleman, who is jumping at the Yuma air show for the first time.
This is also going to be a good opportunity to show people what the Freefall School is about, said Coleman. Most people know about the Golden Knights, but they don't really know about the free-fall course.
"The big difference is that the free-fall shows (service members) how to insert behind enemy lines," said Coleman. "We also train them how to jump with a full combat load-a 50-pound pack, rifle and oxygen."
The free-fall team is scheduled to jump twice, once in the morning and once in afternoon. The first jump will include the American flag and smoke, while the second jump will only use smoke.
Coleman, a native of Gary, Ind., has been an instructor since 2006 and has approximately 2,500 jumps under his belt. He is also a certified tandem and bundle master, meaning he can jump with 300 to 500-pound barrels, and is one of seven Marine instructors at the school.
The Military Freefall School, part of the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, N.C., is a joint service training school covering all aspects of military free-fall parachuting through the basic, jumpmaster and advanced military free-fall courses. The classes teach students to use high-altitude, low-opening and high-altitude, high-opening parachuting techniques.
Ellie