Photo By Sgt. Maj. Jeremy Crisp | 1st Sgt. Adam Tweedel, first sergeant, 270th Signal Company, XVIII Airborne Corps...... read more read more
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The XVIII Airborne Corps Special Troops Battalion performed their last pre-deployment jump, Jan. 15, at Sicily drop zone on Fort Bragg - heading out the door of a C130 high-performance aircraft before heading to Baghdad.
Sixty-two paratroopers participated in the jump and were from STB units: Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Headquarters Support Company and 270th Signal Company, all deploying to take on various roles in, or as, the Multi-National Corps-Iraq. Some of these Soldiers have already left to begin their deployment, with others on the way over the next month.
But this jump was a little more special for one Soldier, because where a deployment begins; some things come to an end.
Eighty-three jump veteran, Col. Ron S. Gallimore, had to get a letter from the Secretary of Defense to keep from being forced to retire at the age of 60 – an age he will hit while deployed with the Corps.
Gallimore, a master parachutist and the XVIII Abn. Corps assistant chief of staff for the National Guard, said he will not have the time to jump upon redeployment before he will retire, "So this looks like it will be my last jump," he said.
He added that being around paratroopers is one of the reasons he joined the Army well over 30 years ago.
"It's magic," Gallimore said. "Being able to be around young paratroopers makes me want to get up in the morning."
Although the last jump before deployment for Gallimore and the Corps, it proved to be a first of sorts for some.
As Gallimore patrolled the line during manifest call, he asked the ranks, "How many of you will this be your sixth jump?"
Scores of hands popped up, indicating their first jump after graduating airborne school.
For some, it was only their seventh jump, including Pvt. MaryShannon Whitley, a medic with the Corps' Surgeons office.
"I feel good about our last jump," Whitley said while waiting for the plane at Green Ramp on Pope Air Force Base.
She said she was looking forward to getting the deployment started, and this was one piece of that.
Two days after the successful jump, scores of Soldiers headed out the door on their way to Baghdad as the advance party for the Corps deployment. Others left a week prior, with the remainder leaving before the middle of February.
| Date Taken: | 01.22.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 01.22.2008 17:18 |
| Story ID: | 15686 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 444 |
| Downloads: | 335 |
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