Army Golden Knights drop into El Paso

STORY AND PHOTOS BY DUSTIN PERRY

Members of the U.S. Army Golden Knights’ Gold Demonstration Team sit in the back of a C-31A Friendship aircraft before their freefall parachute jump onto Chapin High School’s football field.

TThe Golden Knights, the U.S. Army’s official parachute team, sent members of its Gold Demonstration Team 7,000 feet in the air for a jump onto Chapin High School’s football field here Oct. 4.

Seven of the team’s 10 members gathered at Biggs Army Airfield early that morning to go through a dry run, or “dirt dive,” before boarding a C-31A Friendship aircraft emblazoned with the Army logo that climbed to a chilling altitude within minutes.

The jump was just one of several performed every year by the Knights, which are made up of two demonstration teams and two competition teams. Although the main goal of the Knights’ jumps is to support Army recruiting goals, the Chapin jump was also preparation for the team’s performance at the Amigo Airsho Saturday and Sunday at Biggs, according to Sgt. 1st Class Jason Davis, Gold Team leader.

Before takeoff, the Knights donned their signature yellow jump suits and black protective helmets. As the aircraft ascended, each team member prepared for the jump in their own way, whether it was joking with the flight crew or poking their head out of one of the plane’s two open bay door for a quiet look at the Earth below.
When the set altitude was reached, the Friendship circled over Chapin’s football field so Davis and the other team members could gauge the correct position from which to jump, taking into account wind speed and direction. Spc. Jared Zell was the first to jump so he could serve as emcee on the ground and introduce his teammates as they landed on the field. At 20, Zell is the youngest member of Gold Team but has already logged more than 1,000 freefall parachute jumps since 2001.

“I just think about the jump and visualize what I’m going to do. I just go over it in my head once,” said Zell, who joined the Knights last year. “[I like] the feeling of self confidence when I’m working together with my teammates to accomplish a mission.”

As the rest of the jumpers exited the aircraft and freefell, they each deployed their parachute and glided the rest of the way down before landing in the center of the field. Once there, they met with the students and signed autographs.

When asked what it was like being a member of the Golden Knights, Zell simply said, “It’s always exciting and it never gets boring.”

Combined, the 10 members of Gold Team have successfully executed more than 17,000 freefall jumps.