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V \ * women, converged on Hurlburt Field, Fla, for the 1976 World Invitational Military Jumpiest There were 114 lour-member teams from Air Force, Army, and Navy active, reserve, and guard units, as well as the Air Force Academy in the two-day competition Sponsored by Hurlburt's 1st Special Operations Wing and conducted under the watchful eye of the wing's combat control team, the jumpfest was first held in 1970 with!50 jumpers as a fund-raising event for the local prisoner-of-war and missing-in-action effort The objective of the annual event now is to promote better community relations by demonstrating the mission of the participating units, inspire interand intraservice cooperation by bringing military airborne units together to discuss and demonstrate new employment techniques and equipment, and display the abilities of Air Force parachuting units Military jumpers competed in a four-man static line accuracy jump and a four-man accuracy and demonstration jump In the static line competition, each team jumps from 1,500 feet The target is a six-inch disc in the center of a 60-foot circular pit "After landing, you have to hurry to beat the clock," said CMSgt Tony Gargano, technical advisor to the winning 3613th Combat Crew Training Squadron team based at 46 AIRMAN
. tfv-v,' V k. " Fla. " art of the ^cly touches the vvatch is started by? it isn't stopped cn of the jumper's *e disc Our team -d time of less than ill competition is w.'o categories icy,>nd demonstration In accui icy category each team iped from 4,000 feet with the November lowest team member opening no lower than 2,500 feet. A disc less than tour inches in diameter was the objective A Hurlburt combat control team took first place, landing a combined total of only 3.78 meters from the disc Three jumpers tied for first place individual honors by landing directly on the disc In the free-fall demonstration event, teams jumped from 7,500 feet with the lowest man opening no lower than 2,500 feet Scoring was based on execution originality, and beauty ot the ump A combined Air Force/Navy team took this one SSgt Bill Stephenson, an Aerospace Audiovisual Service photographer, followed the Air Force Academy team down in a demonstration jump from one of the C-7A Caribou aircraft used by the competitors "I've been actively jumping for about 2'/2 years " said Stephenson "I started with one of the military 47
lipon club', while Pope AF8 N C jod Gince men have mado 2'iO jumpi The camera i u&ea while snojiiny tne a ;adorr.y team if. a motorized Nil-on. customedmounlea by me AAVS shop to a Bell helmet rhe «m o u Is triggered by a micro-svvitch molded info a mouthpiece All I bad 10 ao io take a shot was bile l nnempted to snow iho cademy learn building a star,.vnich 16 formed by h^o lumpers called tne base man jrid the pm man- linking hands o I lowed by tne entrance of other umpc-rs into tne formation Whal he lumper is actually doing 15 lying hie- booy in relation to the «thers An individual jumper lttempting to enter mo star will set jp a glide when lie is about 100 Erof from the star About 10 leet iway fie flares his body and )ently enters the formation I stress w word gently because the star is ve.y tragilo and tho least b»l ot imbalance will cause the formation lo break up Parachutists arc fiagile too, as eviduncod by the occasional lumper-turned-reluctant spcctatoi grounded with a broken arm or leg 8u1 as soon as they mend they'll be bad* in tne air taking that long step down to earth.<>