Someone asked me about being a paratrooper via PM and I took some time to answer. I thought I would share it with the rest of you:
Well, there is some time you spend as a "noob", just like anything else. The hazing has been drastically curbed in recent years. A guy in another battalian was painted red (we called noobs "cherries" because their berets have no unit crest while they are in the placement center). He nearly died and we were then not allowed to even call them cherries anymore.
Best experiences
Jumping from an airplane at night in fog with 0 visibility (and the other 20+ jumps I have).
Shooting every kind of gun and missile available to infantry alot (the 82nd gets more funding for training).
The friends. When your lives depend on each other, you get pretty tight.
Being independant. I paid my own bills, spent my own money and made my own decisions. It was a nice change from private university supported by my parents.
Getting into good physical shape.
Running around with friends to bars and getting laid because townies l0ve army guys (females, heh, the males are not so thrilled). We have a steady paycheck and a promising career complete with amazing benefits.
Recieving my GI Bill/College fund to complete my BA and get an MSc, instead of relying entirely on my parents.
Mission
We train harder than most infantry units, but our missions are rather specialized. Our most common mission is to take and secure an airfield so that the rest of the army can come in.
One motto: "18hours, anywhere in the world, fight on arrival" gives an idea of our purpose as well.
Our year is divided into three parts (equally, as we have 3 brigades):
1) Training. We spend most of this time in the field conducting exercises.
2) Garrison. We spend most of this time in the barracks while we repair our gear and get our stuff into inspection condition... rooms, humvees (if you are Delta Company), weapons, motor pool, etc.
3) Alert. With our gear at inspection quality, we spend most of this time in garrison, only going to the field for short, non-equipment-damaging exercises. This phase is divided into three parts, DRF 1, DRF 2 and DRF 3 (the numbers are higher during the other phases). DRF = defense ready force. The DRF number times 2 is the number of hours that you have to get in formation with your gear after battalian is notified of a "call-out" (mission go). For instance, on DRF1, you have 2 hours to be in formation from time of call-out. Once, I was in a small town north of Fayetteville (the city around Ft. Bragg) and we didn't call in to check for a call-out when we passed out. We woke up and called... we were lucky we had not missed a call-out, but we had only 45mins to make formation. We got in my (convertable) mustang GT and hit 100mph on the highway to base. We got pulled over and told the cop we were on DRF1 and got called out and had 30mins to get to formation. He checked with base and then escorted us with lights.
While mine were all training, you never know when a call-out is real (or fake) until you get to 'green-ramp' (where we assemble to board the planes) and they tell you to dump your ruck and fill it with ammo. Forget the food, forget the change of cloths and forget the other stuff... just ammo.
If there is a fight, there will be paratroopers behind enemy lines (disrupting supply lines, capturing an airfield, or something else...).
Further, regarding the mission:
The Rule of LGOPs
After the demise of the best Airborne plan, a most terrifying effect occurs on the battlefield. This effect is known as the rule of the LGOPs. This is, in its purest form, small groups of pissed-off 19 year old American paratroopers. They are well trained. They are armed to the teeth and lack serious adult supervision. They collectively remember the Commander's intent as "March to the sound of the guns and kill anyone who is not dressed like you" - or something like that.
Airborne. All the Way. Let's Go!
