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“Don’t Burke it” is the phrase used in the beginning of every pre-jump briefing given by the 435th Contingency Response Group. It is used to remind jumpers to keep their feet and knees together when getting ready for a landing.
The phrase came from an incident that happened to Tech. Sgt. Jim Burke, 435th Air Mobility Squadron contingency response airfield manager, in early 2011.
“We first met Sergeant Burke when he showed up here on crutches and his foot in a cast,” said Tech. Sgt. Brian Angell, 435th AMS contingency response communications. “We found out that on his second jump in school he had a bad landing and it resulted in an injury.”
Unfortunately for Burke, not keeping his feet and knees together prevented him from graduating jump school.
To remind the 35 jump-qualified Airmen in the CRG that safety is always No. 1 when performing airborne operations, Angell created a Burke look-alike doll to carry during airborne operations.
The doll, which has red hair like Burke and a cast on the right foot, is stored in Angell’s cargo pocket or ruck sack during jumps.
After a little less than a year of rehabilitation and training, Burke is slotted to return to jump school in April. The doll has been kept under wraps to surprise him before his departure to the three-week course at Fort Benning, Ga.
“We’re pulling for him to make it back from the course with jump wings on his chest and ready to up and out with the other CRG jumpers. This is his legacy to the CRG. He’s a constant reminder to doing things right and staying healthy,” Angell said.
In the beginning, Angell admits that the doll started as a way to poke fun at Burke in a brotherly way, but he found that it kept the jumpers aware of the consequences of not practicing safe procedures.
“We are a very close unit with strong bonds,” Angell said. “(Sergeant) Burke and I are peers, so being able to joke with him about his injury has progressed from good-natured ribbing to unveiling a 12-inch paratrooper doll with orange hair to match his and a foot wrapped in a cast. We knew Sergeant Burke would appreciate the humor and we wanted to be able to use it in a way to prevent the same mistake from happening to someone else.”
When asked about his second trip to jump school, Burke said he was ready to go and will keep one thing in mind.
“This time I will keep my feet and knees together.”
