USMA Sport Parachute Team celebrates 50 years
Story and photo by Kathy Eastwood
The USMA Sport Parachute Team celebrated its 50th anniversary by jumping onto the Plain after the cadet review and before the Army football team took on the U.S. Air Force Academy Saturday.
Cadet members, enlisted personnel and alumni took to the skies to demonstrate their skills during rehearsal Oct. 31 and during the demonstration Saturday.
Former member of the team, Maj. Andrew Morgan, USMA class of ‘98, and now a physician at Fort Bragg, N.C., enjoyed jumping with the team during rehearsal.
"I still jump within my military duty and for fun," Morgan said. "It’s great coming back here and jumping with the cadets -- the camaraderie is still there."
Today’s parachute team has 32 members, said Master Sgt. Brian Davis, the team noncommissioned-officer-in-charge.
"Cadets are generally briefed during Club Night before the selection process," Davis said. "No prior experience is necessary; it generally comes down to personality, attitude and how they get along with the firsties who will be selecting club members. New guys are announced in January and start with ground school and classroom training."
The founder of the team, retired Lt. Col Henmar Gabriel, USMA class of ‘61, attended the demonstration and talked about how he started the parachute team in 1958.
"I was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division as an enlisted man prior to entering the academy," he said. "I kept up my membership in the Association of the United States Army and the Airborne Association."
"During my plebe year, I joined the Parachute Club of America, which was under the direction of Jacques Istel," he continued.
Istel brought the sport of sky diving to the United States from France and attended the demonstration Saturday also.
"During my plebe summer, I learned how to sky dive and thought about initiating a parachute club at West Point. At that time, Istel was starting a sport parachute training center in Orange, Mass. He invited me and anyone else at West Point to observe his training," Gabriel said.
Gabriel’s plan was to become good enough to become an instructor.
On May 1, 1959, seven members of the newly formed cadet team and five members from the enlisted team had their first unofficial public appearance against Yale at Orange, Mass., according to the May 22, 1959, issue of the "Pointer View."
Gabriel said it was difficult at first to get approval for a cadet parachute club because no cadet had ever been given permission to jump, there was limited aviation support, and there was a lack of funding.
Later on, with the help of the officers and NCOs who had parachute jumping experience, the cadet parachute club got off the ground.
Today, the team competes in various collegiate national competitions.
Yearling Chris Rivers, who enlisted in the Army and was a medic in Iraq before coming to the academy, said he loves the sport and that is the reason he is still here.
"Most of it has to do with team bonding," the veteran of 240 jumps said. "Our lives are dependent on each other. But, it’s great. You can see the New York skyline from up there."
Rivers said he got interested in jumping after his first flight in a helicopter in Iraq when all he wanted to do was to get out of it.