Jumping with the Portuguese Airborne.
Paddy and Antonio |
On the 20th
of November 2009 ten members of Pathfinder Parachute Group Europe
arrived at the Escola de Tropas Pa'raquedistas Tancos, Portugal, a
90 minute drive North of Lisbon. We had been met by Paulo of
Pathfinder Portugal who showed us to our quarters after which
we had supper and a welcome drink, followed by bed.
Wednesday we rose early and after breakfast we were driven to the HQ of the Portuguese Quick Reaction Force.15 minutes way and where the airfield is located. Our visit coincided with the annual Airborne Challenge which we were not taking part in although we were allowed to attend the briefings and to see the competitors being put through their paces. |
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The different equipment was explained to us and we were shown the MC-IC's or the French non-steerable chutes we could jump with. As we were used to it we all chose the MC-1C and said we would jump the French chute next if we got the opportunity. |
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Paulo kitting up. The DZ is about 10k from the school but is separated from it by a large wide river so the ride back is a bit longer than it could be. Anything from 30 to 45 minutes truck ride. The DZ is soft and sandy and reminiscent of good old Hankley Common. in Surrey. Its also the DZ where the recruits do their last qualifying jump for their Green Beret. The berets are dropped onto the DZ with the jumpers in a container and presented on the DZ. |
We
were put into sticks of 10 to 12 men and mixed with the competitors to
make up the numbers on the sticks. We then had a 45 minute flight in a
Casa C2959 which is the Spanish alternative to the C1-30. This one was
almost brand new and was taking 45 of us on the drop. Our DZ was at
Arripiado and we jumped from a drop height of 1320 meters.
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weather conditions were perfect and we had no injuries. We had hoped to
get a second jump in but due to a lack of packed round canopies and
available aircraft we didn't get to jump again. I think that if we
take maybe thirty jumpers next time we will not be reliant on making
up numbers on the course and will get more opportunities to jump.
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because
we were already Para trained the one jump was enough to get us our
Portuguese wings which were awarded with much ceremony. We were also
given a very nice certificate and log book.
The
Casa is a good plane to jump from. Roy can you please buy us
one, its
as good as a Herc.
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Stew lurking in the hope of stealing the Casa. |
Anyway the
rest of our time there was taken up with visiting the Airborne
Forces museum. Its main features show quite a bit about the
Colonial African wars.
We
then had a demo by the K9 Wars Dogs unit. These dogs are
Airborne as they jump with the handler. Talk about vicious. These
dogs would rip your heart out as soon as look at you.
(So no one learnt the
Portuguese for 'Nice Doggie then? 'ED.)
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Like
the British Airborne the Portuguese are struggling for recruits. In
the last intake whilst we were there they had 80. Like us they have
a high drop out rate.
(Which is only
right if you want to be in an elite unit. If it was easy everyone
would be a Para. ED )
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We
were allowed to attend the various briefings and lectures for the
competition which was interesting. The school is well run by their PJI
and instructors and is their equivalent of Brize Norton if not just as
good. All the parachutes are well look after and in good nick. There
was three meals a day and the staff could not do enough for us. Even
our beds were made for us.
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Next time taking some of
our civilian jumpers on the course will not be a problem
although a few lessons on drill might not be a bad idea.
by Stewert Roxborough Pathfinder UK.
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Pathfinder Jump with the Portuguese Airborne.2009
by Paddy Rehill Pathfinder UK.
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The trip started as normal with a panic to get to Gatwick Airport on time. That achieved I then hung around in the airport waiting for the flight to depart, weather permitting. I finally arrived in Lisbon 20 mins late and headed for the hotel. I text Paulo and let him know I would RV with the rest of the group at 1700hrs at the Airport. After I sorted out my kit in the room there was only one thing left to do….. Head for the nearest bar. The next morning was a lazy start and a trip to the airport to drop the luggage off for the RV later in the afternoon. I then did a bit of site seeing around Lisbon and back to the airport at 1400hrs to meet Hervé coming in from Amsterdam. With a handful of the group together …..You know it, we headed for the bar to await the arrival of the rest of the group. By 1930h we had the whole group & Paulo assembled.
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A Portuguese Army bus along with reception committee of three soldiers from the Parachute School was there to transport us to the school. The drive took about an hour and a half arriving at the school at about 2100h. They had a meal waiting for us on arrival in the Officers mess, which was excellent. |
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Having been allocated rooms and sorted our kit out for the next mornings activities we went to the officers Bar (…yes another bar). While at the Officers Bar, we meet up with some of the personnel that would be hosting the events that we would be involved in and as we parachuting with an early start the following day, we were quite sensible (that evening). The event itself that we would be involved in was the Challenge Inter-Écoles de Parachutisme (CIEP)
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This is a NATO competition and seminar on parachute insertion. The teams had variety of tasks to complete. Shooting, orienteering and team accuracy parachuting( using non-steerable round, steerable round and square ram-air canopy’s from different drop heights) awarding both team and individual prizes for each event. The countries involved in this years competition were Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain; Cyprus, Sweden and the UK had planned for teams to attend but were unable to because of operational commitments. Nearly all NATO countries were represented for the seminar on the Thursday with the presentation & closing ceremony on the Friday. |
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Pathfinder Parachute Groups small part in all of this was just in the Parachuting phase and not actually taking part in the accuracy competition. On the Wednesday morning, we paraded and moved to the Officers dinning room for breakfast, which had a wide variety of choices, and I believe we all ate well. After breakfast we boarded transport to the airfield. On arrival, we had a briefing on the parachute systems, air and ground brief. Parachute equipment issued and fitted.The system we were to jump with was MC-1C steerable round. Something we were all familiar with. |
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the competition took priority, we had to wait until most of the teams
had jumped and we were assigned the fourth pass on the second lift.
The first three passes were teams of five. Pathfinder Parachute
Group formed the fourth (11 men) and fifth (11 men) sticks with Major
General Comandante da Brigada de Reaccão Rápida as the stick
commander of the 4th stick.
As you can imagine this was quite an honour bestowed upon us.
The aircraft used as a jump ship was a CASA C-295, which has just come into service with the Portuguese Air Force. ( Roy if get a few call’s about buying one we told them you were the person to talk to). |
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| We got onto the DZ with out any problems, nice to depart an aircraft with a bit of speed for a change (THE STICK AND THE AIRCRAFT). The two sticks moved to the RV where the General carried out stick commander duties checking that all had arrived and there were no injuries. When this was complete, the equipment was loaded onto a truck and we all moved off to our transport the General his car and the rest of us on a bus. We moved from there back to the school for Lunch with the usual banter on the way (there I was etc. ……). |
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the second part of the competition was all Ram Air canopies and none
of the group had any training on them.
The rounds had all been used for the first part of the competition
and only three were left. This
was a bit of a disappointment however we were given a tour of the
school including the dog-training centre and the museum.
This took us up to the evening meal.
I was invited as the leader of the group to a reception and meal with the General and the other team Officers with the local town Mayor. This was a pleasant event with a presentation on the town and how it has integrated with the military base. The meal was at a local restaurant with the usual mutual cordialities’ being exchanged. I was lucky enough to be seated beside the three female translators who advised me on the best selection for the meal and provided translations (Spanish, Portuguese, Greek and French and that was just at my end of the table) for the rest of the meal making the whole experience very pleasant. After the meal, we departed and made are back to the officer’s bar and unbelievably meet up with the rest our group there and carried on from there |
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next day consisted of a visit to the parachute-packing unit and
seminar on the Para School and delivery systems, which was very
interesting to see where every one is going with military parachuting.
The results of the competition were announced at the end of the seminar and we were all invited to the bar for celebratory events. |
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| The Pathfinder Parachute Group was in for a bit of a surprise however. We had been told to parade outside the school HQ to receive our Portuguese Parachute Wings. When we got there, we escorted to the main conference room that was lined with pictures’ of Commanding officers of the parachute units and a library of all the operations orders for Angola a truly humbling place. The group were lined up in single file on one side of the room and after an awesome speech from the commandant of the school the wings were presented to the Pathfinder Parachute Group by the Schools Instructors and every one of them including the Commandant shook our hands. We were the presented with a plaque to Pathfinder Parachute Group from the school (A T10 reserve attached to a wooden plaque and small brass dedication…Kept by Paulo) we in turn presented the Pathfinder Group Shield, which was most appreciated by the commandant. |
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| We were invited back to the school at some future time, which I feel would be an event not to be missed.The group then joined the festivities in the bar with the rest of the teams. | |
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The
final day was a closing of the seminar and the final closing ceremony
of the CIEP competition and a buffet lunch for all who participated,
supported and organized the event.
Pathfinder Parachute Group was honoured to be invited and stood on the right hand side of the square throughout the closing ceremony (maybe a drill lesson in preparation the next time). The buffet was a grand affair, which I am sure you can see from the photographs and was enjoyed by all. |
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PS: The T10 reserve had a bottle of very fine port in it, which was very nice! |
The group were due to depart from the school at 1500hrs, which meant some of us went our separate ways, having said our goodbyes. The whole trip in conclusion was a well-organized and planned event and our hosts cannot be faulted. I for one would not hesitate to return there again. I would like to thank Paulo (Pathfinder Portugal) for getting the event off the ground and all who helped in the organisation/planning. The School were excellent hosts providing good food, accommodation and all that we required for our visit. WoHo Mohammed Paddy
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Portuguese Para course November 2009. By Paul Cavanagh
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We arrived okay and were met at airport in Portugal. Then it was off to barracks with the Portuguese military. It was a great experience and we had a had a fantastic time. We were treated like very special people and the Military went out of the their way to make us feel welcome. We could not have asked for more from them. A 'Well done' to all Pathfinder personnel on the course and for showing the professionalism that you all have acquire.
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A very special thanks to Paulo for his hospitality and showing
myself Herve and Big Stu the sites of Portugal on Friday evening
after Endex. We then visited the Portuguese Association of Paras.
There we were made very welcome and were given copious amounts of
the local brew. We were also given wings and tee shirts
by there members. It was a great honour to have been invited to
visit them. I only hope that some day we can repay this in some way
to them.
well done to all and well done Roy for this arranging this event.
Regards
Paul Cavanagh
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PTE |
| SGT |
PTE |
| MDL Eric Taillefer | PTE |
| 1º
CL |
PTE |
| 1SGT |
LT |
| L CPL |
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All China Skydiving Competition Pathfinder China ( By Maamar Ferkoun)
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Pathfinder China visits the Parachute Brigade
of the Chinese People Liberation Army
in Macau
Click here for the PDF Document
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Supporting Airborne Charities - Arnhem 2009
by Col Ed Larkin Royal Army Medical Corps.
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The Future of Pathfinder as an organisation depends on the support and enlistment of serving and ex-forces personnel together with a trickle of civilian parachutists with the right mindset and attitudes. The future also possibly depends on the recruitment of a younger cohort and with this in mind I asked my younger son to do his bit at the 65th
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Anniversary
celebrations in Arnhem this year.
This got off to an inauspicious start, (typical of Pathfinder
trips, you might add) by his arrest by immigration at Schipol
Airport. The official reason for this was his travel beneath the
official age for an unaccompanied minor.
More
likely, may have been that he was arrested for being a Scotsman in a
kilt. The rationale being that the Scotsman in a kilt, more likely
sooner than later, will be up to something illegal and you might as
well charge him before the event.
With a certain amount of paternal pride, I duly sprung him
from jail. Apparently, you get pretty decent food whilst in Dutch
custody. Most Pathfinder members will, of course, be conversant with
the poor scoff on offer within the British penal system.
Arriving in Arnhem, Sam then went about the serious task of
separating the wealthy and the pissed of their spare cash.
The pipes went down well with all.
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The
Scots have always been disproportionately well represented in the
British Armed Forces. The young Scotsman has a genetic and cultural
legacy of reckless behaviour, alcohol misuse and an unswerving
ability to start a fight even in the most unpromising circumstances.
These unholy attributes have, of course, always found a natural home
in Airborne Forces, and Glasgow and Aberdeen accents are heard
amongst veteran and serving personnel alike.
Sam
managed to do his stuff at the usual Airborne Watering Holes in
Arnhem and Oosterbeek, played on the DZ for the main display at
Ginkel Heath on the Saturday and in more formal, deferential mode at
the cemetery service on the Sunday.
He
managed to raise, a surprising amount and even offered to get his
dad laid in Amsterdam on the way home.
This
£600, together with a bit of busking at the autumn rugby
internationals at Murrayfield will
top it up to £1,000, a pretty decent effort for a 13 year old.
The money is earmarked for the
Mark
Wright project ,www.themarkwrightproject.org.uk
which is local to us in Edinburgh and I would ask members to have a
look at their web site, and possibly consider supporting this new
charity in future.
Ed Larkin
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Callum and
Sam have proved that the Airborne spirit runs in families and I look
forward to the day we have them as full members of Pathfinder. Its
only a matter of time.
ED
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Just before Christmas myself and Alan Ash (Secretary
WASF) decided to top up the money raised for our two charities by
walking (Crawling) up Mount Snowdon. The first weekend we chose was
heavy rains,high winds and flooding so in the name of safety we
postponed it to the following weekend. I duly arrived after a five
hour drive at the car park opposite the scenic railway ready to run
up the mountain. After a half hour wait and as I was just about to
give up and drive home Alan turned up with two of his Delta Force 3
Air Soft team and one young lady for support party. She was to sit
in the car park for five hours reading a book, listening to the
radio and amuse herself until the survivors got back,. After a half
hour wait we realised that the rest of you rotten lot were still in
bed and had no intentions of turning up.
Well stuff you lot. Undaunted and properly
equipped and attired we started off up the hill.
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