Which one? I only know of BAC CDQC, Sapper, being available to Cadets, not MFF. CDQC is prolly available because guys in group don't really want to go.
BAC and CDQC were the ones I was refering to. Not that BAC is hard to get in a SOF unit, but in the rest of the army, it is hard to get unless you get it at initial entry into the service.
Couple of reasons. One, it's a recruiting/retention tool. Many cadets are not on contract or are not 100% committed to an Army career, if they go to a hooah school the thinking is they might say "hell yeah" and want to take the plunge. For another, it may make sense financially. It's a hell of a lot cheaper to send a cadet to BAC than it is to send a 2LT. Plus, that's one less step in the training pipeline to get that young officer into his or her first job with troops. Finally, it may be a credibility thing. Most of us know that BAC really isn't that hard, and isn't that much of a gut check. Most other badge/tab producing schools are WAY harder. In fact, I can't think of a single one I'd consider easier than BAC. Nonetheless, it's "something" for those young leaders to show when they get to their first unit. I'm not defending any of those potentially reasons, just explaining what they might be.
AA has a ruck and O course. The hardest thing about BAC is taking the "instruction" seriously. I'm no hard ass but that was some silly training. 5 days of instruction packed into 3 weeks.
You think Air Assault was easier than BAC? Reasonable minds can disagree, but I (and most of the people I've spoken to who have been to both) think that Air Assault was WAY harder. I didn't almost fail out of BAC like I did the slingload phase of Air Assault. Plus I was far better conditioned for the running at BAC than I was the footmarches at Air Assault School. Thank goodness for retests and Moleskin ;)
Just that BAC involves "jumping out of a perfectly good airplane"... I think a lot of people would rather run and ruck, but admittedly I havent done any kind of "polling" about it.
The overall concept of jumping out of an airplane while in flight is a bit scary for a lot of people, but to be honest, by the time we got to that point I think most of us were over it. And unless you're standing in the door, actions in the aircraft happen so quickly it's kind of over before you have a lot of time to think about it. Once that green light comes on, everyone is kind of borne along by the people shuffling along behind them. I was far more terrified of the 34' towers the first couple of times we did it than I have ever been actually jumping. Except for maybe my 6th jump, since it had been 12+ years since I had done a jump. At Airborne School I had the added motivator of my father being the next man behind me in my stick. Airborne allows folks who are on status to come jump with friends/relatives who are in the school, my dad was on active duty at Bragg at the time and came down for my first couple of jumps. So I could either jump or my old man was going to put his boot in my ass, because he was going out the door. So I was exiting the aircraft, I might as well get into a good body position first. I think rappelling is pretty comparable in "fear factor" to jumping, though.
Speak for yourself, I'm still terrified everytime I jump. The only reason I have airborne wings is because I was that kid, when growing up their mom would ask "if all the other kids jumped off the bridge, would you?" and my answer was always "yes". So basically...all the cool kids in the C-17 were jumping, and I am always too embarassed to be a jump refusal like I would prefer to be. Atleast I'm honest! haha
That is extremely cool! My dad was a paratrooper in VN and I would love to have the chance to jump with him when I end up at BAC. I know it's not possible, I'm just sayin'.
Well, when it starts getting close, post up the details here on the site. You never know who might show up...
For me the actual jumping part isn't a problem anymore, it's that "I'm going to hit the ground like a 300# bag of shit every time" that gets me. I think if I could jump a square, or maybe do better PLFs or SOMETHING, I'd enjoy jumping a lot more.
Once I exit the bird, I actually am no longer scared, not even of the landing, even though I know full well that is the most dangerous part of the jump. I am most scared from the time you stand up and hook up the static line until I exit the bird. Once I have stepped off, I'm good to go. Well, let me clarify, the aforementioned scenario is if I am jumping a c-17, doing a ramp blast of any kind, etc. If I am jumping the door on a c-130...I am nervous from the time I find out I am jumping a c-130 until I exit the door. Fuck C-130's....
Yeah seriously, fuck C-130s. I wouldn't say I was terrified after I did 6 or 7 jumps, but it was definitely still uneasy every time. Getting hit by prop blast and all that coming out of a jump door never felt good. I didn't use to fear the landing until I had one rough one that I hurt my ankle on. I also learned to dodge the tarmac after my first airfield seizure. That whole 'the airfield is not an obstacle' is bs. I didn't know guys didn't want to go to CDQC. I figured that was a high demand school.
I don't mind roping, but then again I have never done a 90 ft. rope either, like some have. Well, MH-60's and MH-6's are awesome, but I do get a little uneasy when roping from a 47, just because you kind of have to lean out and grab the rope, and if your the first guy down its hard to get your feet on the rope.
Oh no. If the only guys on AD UWO teams were ones who wanted to go to CDQC, vice being told they are going, I imagine AD groups would have about enough qual'd guys per BN to fill an ODA. However, if CDQC was as much about diving as MFF is about MFF Ops there would be plenty more who would attend. Crip
