LINCOLN, Neb. — Twenty-eight soldiers serving in the Nebraska Army National Guard’s 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 134th Infantry Regiment, jumped from a C-17 Globemaster III assigned to the Alaska Air National Guard’s 144th Airlift Squadron during training Sept. 29 taking off from Lincoln Airport and landing at Husker Drop Zone near Mead, Nebraska.
“This was the first jump from a C-17 in Nebraska in the entire time I have been here and maybe the first ever,” 1st Sgt. Jeremy Borrell said.
“The crew was outstanding and one of the pilots had flown our larger jump last year at Fort Riley.”
The C-17 crew also performed a pre-game flyover Sept. 30 in Lincoln before kickoff between the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers and University of Michigan Wolverines football teams.
“It was great that we were able to leverage this asset in Nebraska for multiple missions and create a win-win scenario,” Borrell said.
The jump was at risk of cancellation due to strong and gusty wind conditions on an unseasonably warm fall day, but as the jet approached Husker Drop Zone the wind speed stayed under the pre-determined acceptable limit.
“I would rate it this jump a six out of ten,” Cadet Samuel Rosa said. “The landing was a little rough, and the biggest factor was probably the wind. Right before I jumped, it was 11 knots — just under the limit.”
Rosa is a simultaneous member of both the Army National Guard and Army ROTC at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.
Soldiers of the airborne Army National Guard unit jump several times each year, usually once per quarter or more, in order to maintain proficiency as paratroopers in addition to their regular duties and military occupational specialties.
