Post Tagged with: "International Jump Week"

Clear skies and a cold breeze added to the atmosphere of the moment while two crews assigned to the 37th Airlift Squadron at Ramstein assisted their passengers’ mission for the day: jumping out of a perfectly good C-130J Super Hercules.

Twice a year, several participating countries come to together on Ramstein to build relations, share knowledge and offer paratroopers the opportunity to practice high-altitude, low-opening and static-line jumps.

BITBURG, Germany — Over the horizon in an opening between the clouds of a misty blue sky over an old U.S. Air Force airfield appeared several C-130J Super Hercules aircraft and U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopters on a mission to rain Soldiers from the sky.

The U.S., along with seven other allied nations, united for International Jump Week 2016 July 24 through 28 at several different military installations in Germany.

Paratroopers from nine countries check their equipment and prepare to exit a 86th Airlift Wing C-130J Super Hercules July 9 on Ramstein. U.S. Air Force and Army service members worked alongside nine allied countries’ militaries to increase interoperability and strengthen partnerships.

Each year, the 435th Air Ground Operations Wing’s Contingency Response Group hosts International Jump Week to bring partner nations’ airborne units together to conduct training and foster working relationships.

More than 300 U.S., German, French, Spanish, Estonian and Dutch paratroopers participated in four days of airborne operations during the annual International Jump Week recently over the Alzey Drop Zone.