WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM
14 UCW AUGUST 4-10, 2021
COVER
e Special Forces Association Parachute Team
was originally formed as the Green Beret Sport
Parachute Club in 1961. e team is now a non-
profit organization that shares the heritage of the
Special Forces Regiment and works to highlight the
service and sacrifices of military personnel and their
families.
e team consists of active duty and retired mili-
tary and includes Department of Defense support
elements. e SFA Parachute Team maintains a
nucleus of professional parachutists who perform
free fall parachute demonstrations in support of lo-
cal and national venues such as celebrations, sports
events and holidays. Some venues include the Great
American Shoot Skeet, Carolina Panthers football
games and NASCAR events.
e team works closely with other non-profit or-
ganizations such as Special Forces Charitable Trust,
Green Beret Foundation, Low Country Foundation
for Wounded Military Heroes and Upstate Warriors.
Team members say their participation in public
events and their tandem jumps help remind vet-
erans and first responders that they are still valued
members of society. e SFA Parachute Team relies
on sponsorships for equipment purchases and tan-
dem experiences for Wounded Warriors.
"Sometimes soldiers come back from deployment
either physically wounded or they are experiencing
wounds we can't see. ey sometimes feel forgot-
ten or like they have no purpose in this world now
that they are impaired or broken. So, my team, we
strap them to tandem and remind them that they
are important and still have that type A personality,"
said Stanley "Bo" Kinnison, a member of the team
since 1999.
Kinnison, who has 3525 jumps, said training is a
crucial step for the men and women who jump on
the team.
Once accepted on the team, Kinnison said a
jumper will receive additional training that will
build on the skills taught in either the Army's Basic
Airborne Course or the Military Free Fall Course. As
parachutists have undoubtedly gained proficiency
during their active jump status time in the military,
Kinnison said additional training once on the SFA
Parachute Team will increase overall proficiency.
Training for the team includes night jumps, water
jumps, smoke jumps and flag jumps, as well as mul-
tiple accuracy jumps. Accuracy is something that is
practiced in almost every jump, but accuracy jumps
for a demonstration team require a parachutist to
land in a specific area — usually within a 30-foot
circle.
For more information on the SFA Parachute Team
visit http://sfapt.net/.
Special Forces Association Parachute Team highlights service, sacrifice
by AUDREY HOGUE
(Left) Bill, holding football, and Brenda Gatter finish a demonstration jump. The team also conducts tandem jumps
with Wounded Warriors. (Photos courtesy Special Forces Association Parachute Team)
AUDREY HOGUE, Staff Writer.
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