Wednesday, February 25, 2004

WHAT SOME FOLKS DO FOR FUN

Jumping out of a perfectly good airplane...
The jumpmasters opened the doors on the C-130s and the paratroopers started cheering. They were finally getting a chance to jump in Iraq.

About 240 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division's headquarters and various battalions from its 1st and 3rd Brigades jumped near Al Asad Air Base in the western deserts of Iraq on Tuesday. Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack, the 82nd's commander, was one of the jumpers....

"This shows the enemies of our nation that even though we are engaged in the war on terrorism we can still reach out and touch them," Col. Patrick Donahue told the paratroopers. He is the commander of the 82nd's 1st Brigade....

The closer the paratroopers got to the flight line, the more animated they became. Spc. John White of the 82nd Signal Battalion was almost too excited to eat breakfast.

"I live for this," he said. "This is the best."

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