250' Tower

[AbnJack]

I hope that's not true...it was like my second home!

[Airborne Cable Dawg]

Hey is it true that there is no longer a gig pit at BAC??

It was there when I went.

[Psycho7]

Dawg when was that

[Skyshark]

They were not safe when I was there. PLus it was way too windy that week, so I don't know if we would have done them anyway. Tell you the truth I am glad I didn't. Fuck that.

[Airborne Cable Dawg]

Sept 05 to Oct 05 my class straddled the months.

[Jumpmaster K]

Sept 05 to Oct 05 my class straddled the months.

Did you do the tower?

[Airborne Cable Dawg]

Yes. According to the Black Hats we where the first to get the whole class through on the towers in a long time.

[Jumpmaster K]

Yes. According to the Black Hats we where the first to get the whole class through on the towers in a long time.

Well done. You and I are apparently members of a club even more exclusive then Airborne.

[Crown and Sword]

Psycho: When I went thru the whole Jump School was the "Gig Pit".

[Psycho7]

Damn Crown what did you do to piss off the Blackhats???

I was lucky enough to avoid that fucker. Most of the troops who I saw go there got their boots done by the bootblack guy. Also we had 4 marines who lived there. SFC Walker hated marines.

Damn bootblack guy probably had to go get another job when the desert boots started to show up with the ACU's

[AbnJack]

Spent time in the gig pit for laughing at inappropriate moments. After the first time, it became a joke or game for the BlackHats. They'd start fucking with someone else and keep an eye on me, at the first hint of a smile they be on me like white on rice then laugh about it themselves. I was the gig pit "funny guy".

Another guy was "smoke", he got caught smoking at an inappropriate time. Every time the word smoke was said he had to drop, if he didn't drop quick enough (of course when the BlackHats are having fun you can never drop quick enough) he'd end up in the gig pit too.

Another guy drew their wrath because he took himself too serious, he'd beat his gums about other students not belonging there, like he was somebody better and special than the rest of us, they really fucked with that guy.

Maybe it was just me, but the BlackHats seemed to have alot of humor in many things they did. My Dad was the same way when I was growing up, so it wasn't a big deal to me. The stories I'd hear about jump school were way worse than the school itself, it was kinda hard but I honestly enjoyed it.

[Lower_Jumper]

I was 17 when I went through jump school. Although I gained a lot of courage from Infantry OSUT, I was still a bit uneasy about jumping for the first time. When we went out to do the towers, everyone was pretty excited - I was very eager. When my turn came and they hoisted me up there, I was a bit scared. Then they told me to reach out and undo that fucking strap - Nervous as hell, I swallowed hard, acted like it was no big deal (I never hesitated), and pulled that thing over the hoop as fast as I could. I unhooked it afterward, let it fall, and did the leg open and close deal to show I was ready.

They pulled me up, I felt a jerk, and I was floating down. It was awesome. I wished I could do it again.

Damn - that was 19 years ago.

~

[ABN MP]

Psycho,
Amazing as it sounds Joes now turn in their boots to get them cleaned. The Korean Boot guy still does black boots for the Navy and Air Force guys. I always notice that he has a lot of the New ACU boots dropped off also. He takes them and cleans them us so that they look new.
He has just changed his purpose to keep making the money. That way the Joes don't have to clean them.

[Ironic-Mike]

Psycho,
Amazing as it sounds Joes now turn in their boots to get them cleaned. The Korean Boot guy still does black boots for the Navy and Air Force guys. I always notice that he has a lot of the New ACU boots dropped off also. He takes them and cleans them us so that they look new.
He has just changed his purpose to keep making the money. That way the Joes don't have to clean them.

That hasn't changed.

There were boot cleaners when I went through in 1979. I had to through the boots away after Jump School beacuse of what they put on the boots, but it was worth it.

[AbnJack]

Mike didn't the Black Hats fuck with you for using the bootblacks?