Army Parachute Team: "Skydivers" 1962 US Army; The Big Picture TV-554; Golden Knights (Patreon)

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'Skydiving...a leap from two miles up...a descent at 120 miles an hour...this is routine for members of the U.S. Army Parachute Team--champions in competition and combat. In this issue of THE BIG PICTURE, through an unusual helmet camera technique U.S. Army skydivers demonstrate daring, free-fall skills which have thrilled international audiences. This 30-minute documentary film is a tribute to an elite corps of paratroops and their contribution to military airborne techniques.'

Originally a public domain film, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.

The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_Parachute_Team

Wikipedia license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The United States Army Parachute Team, nicknamed the Golden Knights, is a demonstration and competition parachute team of the United States Army. It consists of demonstration and competition parachutist teams, drawn from all branches of the Army. Members must demonstrate excellence in parachuting...

History

The Strategic Army Corps Sport Parachute Team (STRAC) was originally conceived by Brigadier General Joseph Stilwell. The first STRAC team consisted of 19 military parachutists. This unofficial unit competed successfully in parachute competitions, provided assistance to the military in the development of modern parachuting techniques and equipment, and provided support for Army public relations and recruiting. In 1959, the team was formally organized and later redesignated as the Army's official aerial demonstration unit on June 1, 1961.

Unit organization

The STRAC is part of the United States Army Marketing and Engagement Brigade, headquartered at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. The parachute team is garrisoned at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, and has several dedicated facilities in the area. These facilities include an aviation support facility, a team headquarters facility, and a dedicated team drop zone. The team itself is composed of about 95 men and women and divided into several smaller task-oriented subunits, also called teams or sections. The support elements include an aviation section, a headquarters section, a media-relations section, and a supply section. The administrative and support personnel make up about half of the unit's end strength, and provide invaluable logistical support for the demonstrators and competitors as they perform their duties in the US and abroad. The team's operational elements include two demonstration teams, a four-way relative work team, a style and accuracy team, a tandem section, and most recently, a canopy swoop team.

The two Golden Knight demonstration teams travel the United States (and occasionally overseas), performing for public audiences at venues ranging from relatively small civic events to nationally and internationally televised events (such as Monday Night Football games, NASCAR races, and large international airshows). The two, 12-member teams travel around 240 days per year, and use the team's two Fokker C-31A Troopship jump aircraft as their primary means of transportation, and sometimes the UV-18C Twin Otter Series 400 made by Viking.

The two demonstration teams are dubbed the Gold Team and Black Team, in reference to the official Army colors. Team members come from a variety of backgrounds in one of the 150 jobs available in the US Army. Each team has a team leader, who typically has the most time and experience performing demonstration jumps and typically holds the rank of an Army sergeant first class.

The 24 demonstrator positions on the team are typically held for at least three consecutive years. At the end of their tenure, soldiers then either rotate back to Army line units or they may request to stay with the team for an additional period in one of several specialty positions. These positions are usually reserved for tandem parachute instructors, videographers, team leaders, and competition parachutists.

The demonstration teams perform several types of shows; each is performed to exacting standards of practice, but can also be tailored to the specific venue. These shows range from jumpers exiting the aircraft and landing in a major-league stadium, to more involved 20- or 30-minute aerial displays...