 Editor in Chief Bill   | 13 Feb 2013 10:33 a.m. PST |
Capt Zannatul Ferdous has become the first female paratrooper in Bangladesh. Along with 17 others, Zannatul completed the special paratrooper course by jumping off a helicopter of Bangladesh Air Force from a height of 1,000 feet yesterday… link |
| nickinsomerset | 13 Feb 2013 10:58 a.m. PST |
Not quite P Company!! Tally Ho! |
Cke1st  | 13 Feb 2013 11:13 a.m. PST |
Look for an Iranian woman to duplicate this feat within the year (in a combat chador, of course). |
| vojvoda | 13 Feb 2013 2:08 p.m. PST |
I guess the glass ceiling in Bangladesh is 1000 feet AGL? I am sure in her job "She is now serving as a computer trainer at the Bangladesh Military Academy". that there is a lot of calling for airborne insertion.
VR
James Mattes
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| vtsaogames | 13 Feb 2013 3:31 p.m. PST |
"Brigade HQ, this is battalion. Enemy helicopters inserted a platoon of airborne geeks behind us. Please check data and communication circuits!" "Brigade HQ, come in! This is Battalion! Come in! Come in please!" |
| Redroom | 13 Feb 2013 3:40 p.m. PST |
A step in the right direction imo. |
79thPA  | 13 Feb 2013 4:23 p.m. PST |
I wonder how many countries award paratrooper jump wings for jumping out of a helicopter. |
| thejoker | 13 Feb 2013 4:29 p.m. PST |
Portugal had female paratroopers in the sixties.
link |
| A sea that raged no more | 13 Feb 2013 5:10 p.m. PST |
Hmmm, that's quite old to be a paratrooper! |
| Editor in Chief Bill | 13 Feb 2013 5:44 p.m. PST |
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| Uesugi Kenshin | 13 Feb 2013 6:03 p.m. PST |
"Currahee!"….or whatever the heck they yell! |
| Dragon Gunner | 13 Feb 2013 6:32 p.m. PST |
There is a huge difference between being jump qualified and a paratrooper. I always detested support troops that never went to the field calling themselves paratroopers. |
| vojvoda | 14 Feb 2013 7:20 a.m. PST |
79thPA on 13 Feb 2013 3:23 p.m. PST wrote:
I wonder how many countries award paratrooper jump wings for jumping out of a helicopter. Many do. Some even have Balloon jumps. It is not the platform that matters, it is the exit and landing! For senior and master wings in the Army you have to have several mass tactical jumps along with being a jumpmaster but in general for both Static Line or HALO the platform does not matter. VR
James Mattes
Halo Jump Master, AFF Instructor, Master Parachutist.
(528 HALO, 120 SL) |
| Legion 4 | 14 Feb 2013 8:16 a.m. PST |
Yes, the US Army and many other armies have females go thru parachute training … But yes, that does not mean they go to Infantry, FA, Armor, etc. Companies/Batteries … As Dragon Gunner noted, they are parachute qualified support troops … MPs, drivers, MI, logistic, etc. When I was on active duty, in the distant past, I dated a number of them ! No big deal. The US Army also has Air Assault qualified females(and males !) as well, and are awarded those wings also … And as VR stated, it is the exit and landing … not the platform … And for those who don't know about Air Assault Wings – link I have both Airborne and Air Assault Wings as many US Army personnel do … possibly/probably VR and Dragon Gunner do also. It is really no big deal … But in both cases you still have to pass all the training, tests, etc. to get them awarded … |
| vojvoda | 14 Feb 2013 2:13 p.m. PST |
Believe it or not SF do not go to Air Assault training back in my day. It was considered part of the job description and taught in phase III. There were guy who had them from the before life in the Army but I never heard of anyone going from group. VR
James Mattes |
| Legion 4 | 15 Feb 2013 8:21 a.m. PST |
I believe it … Just like eventually there was talk about eliminating Pathfinder School for whatever reasons, including getting similar training at other courses … Don't know if Pathfinder School is still around … But I believe that any good training course is a good thing, regardless … |
| Jemima Fawr | 15 Feb 2013 8:28 a.m. PST |
Since when did qualifying as a military parachutIST make one a 'paratrooper'? I've had many 16 year-old cadets who have jumped out of military aircraft, but nobody (not even themselves) would ever consider them to be 'paratroopers' – they don't even get a qualification badge. |
| Zephyr40k | 15 Feb 2013 12:08 p.m. PST |
Ref: DB Cooper. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Db_cooper At the time, there was a lot of speculation that the fellow referred to as "DB Cooper" might have been a former paratrooper. But in later years people have offered the more realistic theory that he was probably someone who was jump-certified but was not actually a paratrooper. For example: – He jumped at night into a thunderstorm. An actual paratrooper would never have been that stupid.
– From the 4 parachutes that the FBI brought him, he chose to use an older, less advanced chute and a dummy chute. An actual paratrooper would have recognized the better chutes and used those. The most viable theory I have heard is he was a loadmaster on an AirAmerica 727 inserting troops and supplies into Laos during the Vietnam war. Those people are jump-certified and wear chutes, as they do run the risk of falling out, but they're nowhere near technical experts in parachuting. |
| 14Bore | 15 Feb 2013 5:23 p.m. PST |
She looked like she was about 4' high. Granted the picture is small but guess the guy pinning wings on her isn't Michel Jordan. I am impressed with her achievement. |
| nickinsomerset | 16 Feb 2013 3:20 a.m. PST |
"Since when did qualifying as a military parachutIST make one a 'paratrooper'?" As I said R Mark, not quite P Company! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P_company See you at Bovington!! Tally Ho! |
| Jemima Fawr | 25 Feb 2013 11:32 p.m. PST |
Nick, Indeed! :o) And yes, I look forward to it. |
| Patrice | 26 Feb 2013 2:50 p.m. PST |
Many years ago… a French female paratrooper told the French TV that after she did the jump, a general came to meet the troops, and when he saw her he said: "Well done. Does the parachute harness harm your breasts?" and she answered: "No more that it harms between your legs, mon general!" |
