<p>Hi everybody!</p>
<p>I was wondering if someone could please tell me about doing Airborne training at West Point. It sounds really interesting, and I would definitely consider it should I be given the opportunity.</p>
<p>Could someone please tell me...
-the requirements for Airborne school at West Point?
-about the training itself?
-what opportunities Airborne school opens up?</p>
<p>Thanks very much for your input!</p>
<p>SLS3P4S</p>
<p>if your still in the sls stage, i wouldnt worry about it too much. you will go to airborne school if you want to. there are other military development schools they will offer you here though that i would recommend going for. airborne is almost a guarentee when you get into the army.</p>
<p>yeah Airborne is like the basis training if you want to do anything elite in the Army like Rangers or go SF.</p>
<p>its much easier to go to Airborne school at west point than it is in an ROTC. I'm in ROTC right now and 60 of us have to compete for like 2 spots. its based on GPA, APFT Score, overall participation... wah wah wah. -.-</p>
<p>Airborne was an awesome experience. There are a BUNCH of slots, so it's not that hard to get to. Prerequisites are a 5 mile formation run at an 8 min/mile pace, and pullups (not sure about that one, they were talking about getting rid of it). </p>
<p>Airborne school is at Ft. Benning GA, and it's three weeks long. Ground Phase, Tower Phase, and Jump Week. Ground Phase is just that, a lot of learning to fall "correctly". Tower Phase, you do this neat slide for life thing. Keep your chin tucked or you get some nasty burns from the risers on your neck. Jump Week, you die of boredom waiting to jump and fall out of an airplane five times. Nothing to it. The other requirements are the runs, 3/4/5 mile runs at an 8 min/mile pace. The humidity is killer. Especially when the AC and the water's been out in your barracks all weekend...yes I moved to a hotel at my own expense that weekend, no way was I going to stay in that Hell. They hauled water buffalos in on Thursday and basically said the water would be back on Monday. Um...no. Not happening. </p>
<p>Benning's an interesting post, but make sure you ask to take your car with you over the summer. Most TACs will sign a memo allowing you to. You'll get the money the government would have spent on plane fare for gas when you do your travel voucher at the end of the summer. Exit 10 has a big theatre, Krispy Kreme, Ben and Jerry's, Olive Garden, Chili's, Red Lobster, Hooter's, Marble Slab Creamery, Atlanta Bread, and a nice shopping complex. Huge Barnes and Nobels. </p>
<p>Airborne isn't that much of a guarantee in the army. I have a few NCOs who wish they could go but can't because they're not in an Airborne unit. No one out of my Basic Course got to go after we graduated.</p>
<p>If I could do it all again, though, I'd definitely have gotten certified in Combatives as far along as I could for my lifetime sport, and done SCUBA certification with the SCUBA club instead. Oh well...live and learn :)</p>
<p>7 Pull ups I believe it is.</p>
<p>There are 3 kids I know of from my old battalion who are going. 1 freshman and 2 sophomores.</p>
<p>Here's a link to the daily PT schedule...<a href="https://www.infantry.army.mil/airborne/airborne/pt.htm%5B/url%5D">https://www.infantry.army.mil/airborne/airborne/pt.htm</a> Memo dated 31AUG2006 says nothing about pullups, though. Interesting... <a href="https://www.infantry.army.mil/airborne/airborne/1-507th%20BAC%20APFT%20Entrance%20Standard.pdf%5B/url%5D">https://www.infantry.army.mil/airborne/airborne/1-507th%20BAC%20APFT%20Entrance%20Standard.pdf</a></p>
<p>"theres a bunch of slots so its not hard to get into."</p>
<p>yeah true for West Point but not true for SROTC.</p>
<p>just pointing that out</p>
<p>Are the requirements different for girls, or do they still have to do the 7 pull ups etc.?</p>
<p>Right...I didn't think I needed to clarify I was talking about West Point's allocation of slots, because the question asked specifically about West Point and Airborne. Sorry if I misled anyone.</p>
<p>Pullups are for everyone, I just can't remember what the requirement was. I think it's one pullup from a dead hang, and then keep your chin above the bar for 10 seconds, maybe? But they weren't mandatory in Summer '05, which is when I got my wings. They were mandatory in Summer '04. The five mile run standard is the same for girls, but the PT scores are only the female minimum for girls, so hmmm...19 pushups? 54 situps? 18:00 two mile? Something around there.</p>