(Sgt. Tankelewicz has since been promoted to staff sergeant.) VIEW ORIGINAL
Tankelewicz, Capt. Ralph Roper III, CW4 Terry Wright.
(Sgt. Tankelewicz has since been promoted to staff sergeant.)
VIEW ORIGINAL
NATICK, Mass. – Sgt. Jovani Tankelewicz recently graduated from the U.S. Army National Guard Warrior Training Center Jumpmaster Course at Camp Varnum, Rhode Island. Tankelewicz serves as an aerial delivery military liaison and parachute rigger in the Soldier Sustainment Directorate at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, or DEVCOM SC.
Soldiers attending the Jumpmaster Course are already trained U.S. Army parachutists who have completed the U.S. Army Basic Airborne Course, qualifying them to participate in airborne operations.
Being a jumpmaster is an incredible responsibility. Jumpmasters are responsible for ensuring that all parachutists exiting an airplane do so properly and safely. They also have the skills necessary to oversee a combat-equipped jump, including the release of combat and individual equipment.
Tankelewicz praised the U.S. Army National Guard Warrior Training Center Jumpmaster Course.
“It was a great course,” said Tankelewicz. “The instructors were excellent, and they really cared about us. It was overall a great experience and environment. I felt like there were no questions left unanswered.”
The 23-year-old jumpmaster has achieved an important career milestone at a young age.
“It feels good,” said Tankelewicz. “It opens up a lot of doors for me in the future.”
Tankelewicz’s recent graduation ceremony featured a true passing of the torch moment. John Mahon, a retired CW4 and a recently retired senior airdrop equipment specialist in the Soldier Sustainment Directorate at DEVCOM SC, spoke at the event. Mahon graduated from the Jumpmaster Course in 1978, and he has made invaluable contributions to the airdrop community and to the airborne Soldier. During the ceremony, Mahon was awarded the honorary Jumpmaster Black Hat Instructor, an honor rarely given.
“It was a great honor to receive this award and to be asked to be a guest speaker at this graduation ceremony,” said Mahon. “As I have been associated with parachuting safety my whole career, it was a good opportunity to share some experiences with a new crop of jumpmasters and place emphasis on their new responsibilities to the jump/airborne community. Jumping with the Rhode Island National Guard units over the last 30 years has been my pleasure, and I’m always amazed at the attention to detail and safety that these units place on airborne safety. I know they will keep this same standard in the future.”
As a new jumpmaster, Tankelewicz will bring his expertise to his job as a parachute rigger at DEVCOM SC. He believes that his jumpmaster training complements his parachute rigging responsibilities.
“Working at DEVCOM SC as a parachute rigger definitely is a rare assignment to get, because there are only five of us in the shop and not a lot of parachute riggers get this type of opportunity in their career,” said Tankelewicz. “You get to see the research and development side of everything that is going on with parachutes and aerial delivery on the R&D side of the Army. You get to see a lot of cool stuff. You get to see what they are testing. I enjoy it a lot.”
(Note: Sgt. Tankelewicz has since been promoted to staff sergeant.)
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About DEVCOM Soldier Center: The DEVCOM Soldier Center is committed to discovering, developing, and advancing science and technology solutions that ensure America’s warfighters are optimized, protected, and lethal. DEVCOM Soldier Center supports all of the Army's Modernization efforts, with the Soldier Lethality and Synthetic Training Environment Cross Functional Teams being the DEVCOM Soldier Center’s chief areas of focus. The center’s science and engineering expertise are combined with collaborations with industry, DOD, and academia to advance Soldier and squad performance. The center supports the Army as it transforms from being adaptive to driving innovation to support a Multi-Domain Operations Capable Force of 2028 and a MDO Ready Force of 2035. DEVCOM Soldier Center is constantly working to strengthen Soldiers’ performance to increase readiness and support for warfighters who are organized, trained, and equipped for prompt and sustainable ground combat.
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) outreach and mentoring the next generation of scientists and engineers are also an important part of the mission of DEVCOM Soldier Center. The mentoring of students by Army scientists and engineers benefits the students and their communities. It also increases young people's awareness of potential Army job opportunities and helps provide the Army with potential new talent, helping to fuel innovative ideas that benefit the nation's warfighters and the nation as a whole.
DEVCOM Soldier Center is part of DEVCOM. Through collaboration across the command's core technical competencies, DEVCOM leads in the discovery, development and delivery of the technology-based capabilities required to make Soldiers more lethal to win our nation's wars and come home safely. DEVCOM is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Futures Command.
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