Two SPDF Special Forces service personnel, Lieutenant Michael Souris and Sergeant Ismael attended a two-week Free Fall Parachuting course in Reunion at the PARA CLUB DE BOURBON from October 24 to November 3, 2018.
Whilst numerous SPDF personnel and all special forces servicemen are qualified Static line paratroopers, Lt Souris and Sgt Ismael are the first ‘TAZAR’ officer and NCO respectively to attempt free-fall para jump.
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The course focused on both theory and practical aspects of the free-fall para jumping, where the two personnel learned different kinds of maneuvers, such as gliding and to how to mitigate free-fall incidents. They are now both certified with a Brevet A in free-fall parachuting.
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Having completing this civil course, the next step is for them to be certified in military free-fall parachuting. SPDF intends to follow-on with the same format and have more special forces personnel certified in free-fall para jump in the future.
Note: Based on a typical skydiving freefall descent rate, it takes around 10 seconds to fall the first thousand feet then five seconds thereafter. So from 14,000 feet, opening your parachute around 5,000 feet, you’ll fall for about fifty seconds. During that time, you’re totally able to breathe, relax, take in your surroundings.