Photo By Carmen Daugherty | Staff Sgt. James Vaugh, B Company, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 82nd...... read more read more
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Joy to the world! The airborne has come,
With their gifts they hope to jump.
Let every child …
Story by Sgt. 1st Class Claude Dixon, 318th Press Camp Headquarters
FORT BRAGG, N.C. - More than a thousand paratroopers landed at Sicily Drop Zone, here, as a part of Operation Toy Drop Dec. 5, 2014.
For American troops it was a chance to earn foreign jump wings by working with jumpmasters from Germany, Latvia, Indonesia, Poland, Italy and the Netherlands.
“We had a German jumpmaster. It was awesome!” exclaimed 1st Lt. Michael Kipp, B Troops, 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. “They did all the commands in German. We rehearsed everything prior to the jump to make sure everyone knew exactly what they were saying.”
The 17th Annual Randy Oler Memorial Operation Toy Drop, hosted by U.S. Army Civil Affairs & Psychological Operations Command (Airborne), an Army Reserve unit, is the world’s largest combined airborne operation with six allied and partner nations involved. It is also a time when Soldiers donate toys so children in need around the local area can have a merry Christmas.
Kipp said jumping was a little different because the German aircraft was a little tighter and there is no real platform compared to what he is used to on American aircraft, such as a C-130 or C-17.
“So you have to jump farther out to avoid hitting the plane,” he said. “The chute opened great. To tell you the truth, this is one of my best jumps. I couldn’t be happier.”
Staff Sgt. James Vaughn, B Company, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, jumped with Latvian jumpmasters.
“Latvia was good,” said the 23-year-old. “They were confident. They knew the aircraft very well. I was never uncertain of the actions of the Latvia jumpmaster team. They were really good. I enjoyed it.”
This wasn’t Vaughn’s first hard slot for foreign wings. He has had four previous hard slots but they were scratched for numerous reasons. So this was his first completed airborne operation to earn foreign jump wings.
“It’s a great experience, you get to meet new people,” said Vaughn. “There is a big mix of people in the chalks. So you get to network there. You get to speak a little with the foreign jumpmaster team. They bring a little culture to the plate.”
This was Vaughn’s second year taking part in Operation Toy Drop.
“It is a great experience!” he said.
This was Kipp’s first experience with Operation Toy Drop.
“It was really good experience,” said the cavalry scout platoon leader.
He went on to say it was a great experience on multiple levels. The first was being able to give a toy to a child in need.
The other great experience was operationally, he said. It brought out trust with other countries and with other Soldiers.
| Date Taken: | 12.05.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 12.07.2014 12:18 |
| Story ID: | 149602 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 322 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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