Courtesy Photo | FORT BRAGG, N.C.-(Center) Col. Ferdinand Samonte, chief operations officer for the 1st...... read more read more
By Capt. Sonise Lumbaca, 1st Corps Support Command Public Affairs Office
FORT BRAGG, N.C.- Warm weather, clear sunny skies and a perfectly good aircraft is all that a paratrooper needs to conduct the perfect airborne operation. For all of the Soldiers of the 1st Corps Support Command, the airborne operation conducted on Apr. 12 was their last opportunity to jump as a COSCOM Soldier. For some, it was their final jump in the Army.
More than 250 Soldiers of the 1st COSCOM took to the skies in a CASA CN-235 aircraft to conduct their final airborne operation at Sicily Drop Zone.
As a unit that is undergoing transformation, the 1st COSCOM will not only lose its airborne status, but the unit will also cease to exist as the 1st COSCOM and transform into the 1st Theater Sustainment Command after Apr. 18.
"There is a little sadness in as much as this is our last official airborne operation," said Brig. Gen. Kevin A. Leonard, commander of the 1st COSCOM. "As we transform the 1st Corps Support Command into a theater sustainment command we will no longer be an airborne unit, so that comes with some mixed emotions."
Prior to the jump, Leonard talked with the paratroopers letting them know that despite coming off of parachute status and changing from a maroon to the Army's standard black beret, it doesn't change who the Soldiers are.
"It doesn't change the airborne spirit that each of us have inside, and so [we will] go forward and move on with this transformation and do what the Army needs for us to do," he said.
Having over 22 years in the Army, Master Sgt. Ernesto Nieto, the senior medical noncommissioned officer for the 1st COSCOM, is one of many Soldiers who will no longer have the opportunity to jump.
"I like to jump. It is a big adrenaline rush," Nieto said. "You just feel good and you can see all the beauty of what we call home [when exiting the aircraft]."
Even though Nieto will no longer wear the maroon beret he wants to emphasize that he and other members of the COSCOM won't bring any less enthusiasm or dedication to the mission.
"The fact that we jump or not jump for a living does not change our purpose of who we are," he said.
Airborne operations here are normally conducted by means of a C-130 Hercules or a C-17 Globemaster III, however, with the support of the United States Army Special Operations Command, the 1st COSCOM had the unique opportunity to jump out of a perfectly good CASA.
"This was my first CASA jump," said Spc. Stephen M. Vosburg, a parachute rigger for the 647th Quartermaster Company, 264th Corps Support Battalion, 1st COSCOM. "It was a little intimidating at first because I didn't know what to expect, but once I got into the aircraft I was comfortable."
Being a young specialist in the Army, Vosburg's chances of participating in airborne operation is probably a lot better than other Soldiers in the COSCOM. However, it is being a member of the COSCOM he will miss most.
"It is always a good thing to be apart of something that is historical, so I feel a little special," Vosburg said. " It is sad that COSCOM is [going away]. I have been [in the unit] for two years and within those two years we have done a lot and I have worked real hard for a lot of good people."
While the 1st COSCOM will inactivate and lose its airborne status, its transformation to the 1st TSC will bring a larger scope of responsibility where it will provide support to the Central Command area of operation.
"It was a great jump," Leonard said. "It was a great opportunity for us to exit this CASA sponsored by the United States Army Special Operation Command here on Sicily Drop Zone for my paratroopers one last time."
| Date Taken: | 04.17.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 04.17.2006 09:36 |
| Story ID: | 6047 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 440 |
| Downloads: | 143 |
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