The Para-Commandos perform precision free fall parachute demonstrations across the United States. It's all in an effort to educate the public about the Special Operations Command, it's mission, and the great work being performed by the Special Operations Command's Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen deployed to over 100 countries around the world.
FOX 35 Managing Editor, Antonio Velasquez Bernhardt had the privilege of training and jumping with these precision free fall parachuters. The team normally jumps from an altitude of 12,500 feet above the ground, freefalling approximately two miles and reaching speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour wearing smoke canisters on their feet to make them visible to the public below.
However, Antonio's jump that he made with the skilled parachuters was 13,500 ft in the sky. During their free fall, the members of the team maneuver their bodies like an aircraft to form formations in the sky.
When the jumpers approach an altitude of 4,000 feet, they break their formation and glide in different directions, opening their parachutes approximately 2,500 feet above the ground. Once open, the members steer their parachutes and land one behind the other with precision and accuracy sticking the landing!
