RHINE ORDNANCE BARRACKS, Germany -- Soldiers of the 5th Quartermaster Theater Aerial Delivery Company and Airmen of the 435th Contingency Response Group hosted International Jump Week 2015 at Rhine Ordnance Barracks in Kaiserslautern July 7-9. The skies were filled with 200 paratroopers from ten countries gaining knowledge of techniques, procedures, and equipment used by partner nations and building relationships within the international airborne community.
"During International Jump Week, I built partnerships with our NATO allies and earned British wings," said Air Force Master Sgt. Stephen Nelson, a Contingency Air Traffic Controller from the 435th Contingency Response Group.
The week was an opportunity for the airborne community to jump with maneuverable canopies. Most nations, including the United States, use non-maneuverable canopies during static line operations, in which the jumper attaches his parachute to the aircraft so that it pulls automatically when he exits. Static line jumps are customary when dropping many paratroopers at once and they run the risk of colliding. For some paratroopers this was their first opportunity to jump with the Maneuverable Canopy 6 parachute.
International Jump Week concluded with a formal wing exchange ceremony in which the jumpmasters of each country awarded airborne wings to paratroopers from partner nations. Poland, France, Estonia, Greece, Germany, Britain, Czech Republic, Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United States awarded wings to foreign paratroopers.
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