IE SHIMA, Japan - Members of 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) took to the skies on May 3 and conducted airborne proficiency training on Ie Shima Island, Japan.
This training is a monthly event, but this was the first time the unit jumped from a Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey.
While observing these trained professionals, it looked like another day at the office. The only difference is their office includes the whir of an engine and parachutes strapped to their backs.
“We have soldiers who today conducted their first jump since they graduated from airborne school, and we have soldiers who have conducted over 100 jumps,” said Capt. Robert Shumaker, Headquarters Support Company commander, 1st Battalion, 1st SFG(A).
When asked about the military free-fall jump, Sgt. 1st Class Isaiah Flaherty, an engineer for 1st Battalion, 1st SFG(A), who has been on a free-fall team for six years said, “It’s a rush, a feeling of anxiety, until you are floating in the air, then it all goes away. Doing a full mission profile, free falling, then moving to an objective, there is no feeling like it. I love it. It's a great feeling.”