Early one morning this month, 864 Army paratroopers bundled into C-17 transport planes at a base in Alaska and took off for a Great Power War exercise between three volcanic mountains on Hawaii’s Big Island.
Only 492 made it. Some of the C-17s had trouble with their doors, while others were forced to land early. A few of the parachutists who did make it sprained ankles or suffered head trauma. And one — a 19-year-old private — began to fall quickly when his chute did not open.
Across the field, shouts of “pull your reserve” could be heard before the young private hit the ground and medics ran to treat him. The horrifying scene and its aftermath encapsulate every jumper’s worst nightmare.
lmao there's no way they're ever winning a war
“My sense is that a successful Chinese invasion of Taiwan would send massive ripples throughout the region,” said Seth Jones, a senior vice president with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “China would likely emerge as the dominant military power in the region, not the United States, and it would trigger a range of second- and third-order effects.”
For instance, America’s Pacific allies could lose faith in U.S. deterrence and try to make security deals with China. Japan and South Korea — both treaty allies of the United States — could join the nuclear club as a way to defend themselves against China.
“Is it quite the fall of the Roman Empire?” Mr. Jones said. “I don’t know, but that’s the right kind of question to ask.”
And one — a 19-year-old private — began to fall quickly when his chute did not open.
Yeah... That's just regular falling. That's what happens when you step outside a flying machine.
I know this is pedantic, but I dunno that sentence just tickled my funny bone. I'm imagining some sergeant explaining the incident with tactical words "Well uh the private - that is to say the individual soldier who was at the rank of PV1 - initiated a maneuver without previously ascertaining wether he was correctly equipped for the task. Upon succesfully completing several stages of the maneuver he began to experience a negative result of his lacking equipment - That is to say he began to increase his downwards velocity at an accelerating pace."
While I agree that the USAmerican military is generally incompetent, minor injuries are very common for paratroopers. The way they have to jump is inherently far more dangerous than recreational skydiving as they need to open their parachutes as low as possible to minimize the chance of being shot on the way down
lmao there's no way they're ever winning a war
Yeah... That's just regular falling. That's what happens when you step outside a flying machine.
I know this is pedantic, but I dunno that sentence just tickled my funny bone. I'm imagining some sergeant explaining the incident with tactical words "Well uh the private - that is to say the individual soldier who was at the rank of PV1 - initiated a maneuver without previously ascertaining wether he was correctly equipped for the task. Upon succesfully completing several stages of the maneuver he began to experience a negative result of his lacking equipment - That is to say he began to increase his downwards velocity at an accelerating pace."
There's a metaphor here for what the US is going through. I would almost argue the writer intends it too.
While I agree that the USAmerican military is generally incompetent, minor injuries are very common for paratroopers. The way they have to jump is inherently far more dangerous than recreational skydiving as they need to open their parachutes as low as possible to minimize the chance of being shot on the way down