Courtesy Photo | West Virginia State Senator and retired Soldier Richard Ojeda jumps with Sgt. 1st...... read more read more
PETERSBURG, Va. (June 29, 2017) -- The U.S. Army Parachute Team – better known as the Golden Knights – has achieved widespread notoriety for aerial exploits that has been recognized with hundreds of gold medals in competition since its 1959 inception.
The Golden Knights also has performed as a demonstration outfit, wowing millions at football games, state fairs and various other entertainment venues in an effort to connect with the public it serves.
Bringing their world-renown reputation to the Virginia Skydiving Center in Petersburg June 19 and 21, the Knights performed several tandem jumps to support the efforts of the Richmond Recruiting Battalion.
Richard Ojeda, a former airborne-qualified Soldier and current West Virginia state senator, was one of about 30 people – mostly school administrators and teachers – invited to take part in an exercise in which professionals fasten themselves to novices to perform jumps “in tandem.”
“I think this is phenomenal,” said Ojeda following his jump. “I spent the majority of my career jumping out of airplanes, but I never got to do a skydive. It was always static line (a type of delivery system used by the Army) so when I got word about this jump and was asked would I be interested, I jumped at the chance.”
Ojeda and others received a few hours of instruction and training prior to their tandem jumps. The former combat engineer, who retired from the Army in 2014, was one of a few who got to jump before the weather turned for the worse on day one. He said a tandem jump as a civilian is a lot less bothersome compared to military jumps.
“It was definitely not painful but absolutely fun,” he said, alluding to the long hours of waiting and preparation during military jumps.
Aside from the jump itself, Ojeda said he always knew of the Knights’ professionalism and enthusiasm but got to experience those attributes in an up-close and personal way.
“The biggest part to this is that its the greatest parachuting operation on the planet,” he said. “And to be able to say you exited an aircraft with these amazing, talented human beings is a bucket list (item). You may skydive with somebody, but you haven’t skydived with the Golden Knights – well, I have.”
The Golden Knights appearance at the VSC was part of an effort to help recruiters promote the professionalism and capabilities of the Army, Richmond Recruiting Battalion officials said.
Comprised of companies headquartered all over the state in addition to West Virginia, the RRB is responsible for 108 counties in Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland.
The Golden Knights parachute and skydive teams have earned 460 national championships and 100 world championships among many other achievements, according to its website.
| Date Taken: | 06.29.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 06.29.2017 09:57 |
| Story ID: | 239594 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 83 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, The Golden touch -- Army's elite parachute team makes appearance in Central Virginia, by Terrance Bell, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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