12.11.2024.
Youngest SAF paratroopers perform first parachute jumps
Soldiers who are doing their voluntary military service and young leaders recently assigned to their entry-level duties at the 63rd Parachute Brigade are currently performing parachute jumps at the Sergeant-Pilot Mihajlo Petrović Military Airport in Niš.
This is the final segment of their basic parachute training, which involves jumping from Mi-17 helicopters using modern parachutes during both the day and night.The parachute jump instructor at the paratrooper training company, 63rd Parachute Brigade, says that during their ground training, the trainees first underwent physical preparation for the parachute jumps awaiting them, as well as a simulation of a parachute jump at the parachute training area.
— After the ground training, we started doing parachute jumps according to the program that every paratrooper must complete. It consists of four parachute jumps. The first jump from an altitude of 800 metres is for the trainees to familiarize themselves with the parachute, the second one is to practice opening the reserve parachute, the third one involves jumping with weapons and combat equipment and the fourth one is the night jump - said the instructor.
One of the trainees, a young leader who was recently assigned to the 63rd Parachute Brigade, says that the first parachute jump gives you a special feeling.— What left the strongest impression on me during today's jump was the separation from the aircraft which produced a sense of lightness in my body, and after that the parachute ride was too beautiful to describe. Landing and jumping is something we've been practicing for three weeks, so we are ready for all of this — he explained.
A soldier who is doing his voluntary military service says that he has always wanted to become a member of the 63rd Parachute Brigade and that he is satisfied with his first jump.
— Since I was a child, I have dreamed of serving and working in the 63rd Parachute Brigade. That's why I signed up for voluntary military service. It is a great privilege and honour to serve in an elite unit of the Serbian Armed Forces. Parachute training was strenuous and intensive, but I was physically prepared before I came here, so it wasn't hard for me - said the soldier.Upon successful completion of the four-week basic parachute training, the trainees are awarded the title of paratrooper, and the soldiers become eligible for joining the 63rd Parachute Brigade as professional members once they complete their military service.
