Black Team had the unique opportunity to visit the home of America’s Strategic Stealth Bomber, the B-2. The Wings Over Whiteman Air Show invited the Golden Knights to attend, once again. Black Team was pleased to, as the headlining act. Performing the night performance on Friday seemed appropriate near an Air Force base, where it’s common to see “unusual aircraft” by the American Public.

Friday night, Black Team exited from 12,500 feet with nine jumpers wearing our brightly lit pyrotechnic sticks, to enable spectators to see the jumpers from several miles away. After landing safely, we had presentations for both of the General Officers, commanding the 509^th Bomber Wing and the 442^nd Fighter Wing.

Although Saturday’s winds were spiking up as high as 29 knots at the tower, Sunday’s weather yielded perfect conditions for parachute demonstrations. Both morning and afternoon performances were performed from our full jump altitude of about 2 ½ miles above the ground. Performing Mass jumps, Diamond Tracks, and intentional cut-away maneuvers, Black Team was a major highlight of Sunday’s air show.

Black Team had another opportunity this weekend. Members of the Irish military are looking into starting a parachute team for demonstrations of their own. Black Team was proud to have, in our attendance, two of the Irish jumpers. We wanted to allow the Irish to participate and view our behind the scenes procedures and preparations. By including them, during every step of the performance, the Golden Knights were able to help the Irish bypass some of the common growing pains and trial and error pitfalls of standing up a parachute team.

Brigadier General Scott A. Vander Hamm, the commander of 509th Bomb Wing, Air Force’s only B-2 wing, was very thankful for our attendance and flexibility. He personally took the Team on a tour of the B-2, following the show. Even taking them into and allowing us to sit in the cockpit, BG Vander Hamm and some of his B-2 pilots shared some of the interesting details of the B-2 and its incredible capabilities.

The Wings over Whiteman Air Show was an effective and entertaining show for the American Public. By teaming together, members of the different military forces were able to demonstrate our capabilities in an impressive manner. Watching the B-2 take off and fly overhead is always an incredible highlight. Black Team was proud to take part in this weekend’s activities and thank the American Public for their tireless support of our armed forces. We look forward to future attendance at the Whiteman Air Force Base and its future air shows.

The Joint Service Open House Airshow held at Andrews Air Force Base is one of the highest visibility airshows of the season.  There was several very impressive demonstration which included the Air Force F-22 Raptor, Stealth Bomber, Red Bull Air Force and of course the world famous Golden Knights.  For all three days of the air show the Gold Demonstration Team accompanied by SFC Aaron Figel, SSG Jared Zell, SSG Reese Pendleton and SGT Jeshua Stahler performed spectacularly for the citizens of Maryland.  There were a few bumps in the road along the way as the weather did not cooperate the whole time.  For Friday and Saturdays shows the skies were blue allowing for the team to reach maximum altitude with no problem showing the audience some of the many formations possible to achieve while in free fall.  Sunday was a different story because the clouds rolled in and the skies turned grey giving the team only a 4,000 ft. ceiling to work with.  Even with the low clouds the Gold Team still came through for the show performing some canopy relative work and some of the jumpers wore smaller parachutes so they could show off their swooping skills for the last demonstration.  Over all the Andrews Air Show was a great success.

The Gold Demonstration Team made a huge impression during the airshow when they paid a visit to the Army hangar which was supplied with 85 different Army vendors.  Included in these vendors was the Army Cadet Corps of the National Capitol Region out of Ft. Meade, MD.  Recruiting liaison SSG Shelby Bixler coordinated for seven Army Cadets to receive a plane side brief as well as an opportunity to assist the demonstrators in packing flags into their parachutes.  Cadet SSG Nicholas Cutter is the leader of 17 cadets and plans a career in the Army and has already begun his skydiving career.  Cadet Cutter stated that his Golden Knight experience from this weekend was “inspirational”.  In addition to incorporating the Army Cadets into the Gold Teams pre-jump and post jump activities the Boy Scout troop #447 out of Fredericksburg, PA had the opportunity to meet and greet and discuss todays Army during the evening social on Andrews, AFB.

After each performance the team gathers up all their gear and walks through the crowd receiving high fives and pats on the back from the audience on their way to the packing area designated by the show sponsors and air show coordinators.  While there, the jumpers receive help packing parachutes from anyone looking to lend a hand.  The kids and young adults always get a kick out of helping the jumpers because for most this is the first time they have gotten to see a parachute up close and actually get to handle one.  The best part about working with the young people is seeing the look of amazement in their eyes as they watch the large black and gold canopies become folded and disappear into the small containers.

The Carolina Skydiving League held its first competition of 2012 this past weekend at PK Airpark in Raeford, NC. 13 4way Teams arrived early Saturday morning to compete in a “mini” 6 round meet. The Golden Knights were represented by 2 4way teams: GKF4- the Women’s 4way Team, and GK Black- the less experienced half of the Golden Knights 8way Team.

GKF4 finishes block 19

The two GK teams have been competing against one another for over a year now, with each team trying to gain an edge on the other.  It’s a friendly competition, but a serious one at that, as bragging rights are at stake.  GKF4 beat GK Black at the 2011 US Nationals last year, but GK Black answered back with a win at the 2012 Indoor Skydiving Championships.  After 4 rounds of competition, GK Black was in the lead by 2 points. The lead did not last long as GKF4 won round 5 by 2 points, which led to a tie going into the final round. On round 6, GK Black had some trouble on the exit, and GKF4 capitalized with a great round, thereby winning round 6 and taking the overall Gold at the first Carolina Skydiving League Competition of 2012. GKF4 finished the 6 rounds with a 18.0 average. The Golden Knights Competition Team is very fortunate to have 2 4way teams that can push each other to greater levels, all in house.

GKF4 turns block 2, sidebody donut

In between competititon rounds members of the Golden Knights took time to help out the intermediate and rookie teams with technique and dive engineering. The Irish Military 4way team also competed, as they have been training alongside the Knights all week at our training facility in Laurinburg, NC.  Two Carolina Skydiving League competitions remain for 2012, and the Golden Knights’ Competitors will continue to train and compete in preparation for the 2012 Nationals and World Meet later in the year.

The Gold Demonstration Team took a trip up north to perform at the 2012 Manassas Airshow in Virginia.  The skies were blue and the winds were light allowing for a spectacular show over the weekend.  The initial jump by the Gold Team was made on Friday just a few hours after landing at the show site.  The team had just enough time to receive a detailed in brief grab a bite to eat and then take to the skies once again.  Friday was a warm up day for the airshow acts as well as media day where local reporters get to travel behind the scenes and take a closer look at the airshow demonstrators.  Due to the shortened timeline and lower altitude celling on Friday the Gold Team needed to make some on the fly adjustments to the previously planned mass formation.  Instead of the 12,500 feet the team planned for the airshow coordinator only allowed 7,500 for the first jump.  The Team Leader SFC JD Berentis and Assistant Team Leader SFC Dustin Peregrin came up with a new formation that would still allow for maximum visibility for the audience below.  The narrator jump and the mass formation were done successfully and even caught the eye of locals traveling around the area.  It was mentioned by some airshow attendees the next day that they decided to come because they saw the team jump the day before.

The next day during the show the team was greeted with more media personnel wishing to take a ride up with the Gold Team aboard Golden Knight Air.  One of the great advantages to being a member of the Golden Knights is that they have the privilege to see the excitement on the faces of the reporters as they sit just inches from an open door of an aircraft traveling 120 miles per hour two and a half miles above the ground.  The experience is described as a once in a life time thrill ride by most passengers as well as a very humbling event as they know this is our everyday office.

The Gold Demonstration Team also assisted the Manassas, VA Army recruiters led by station commander SFC David Williams during the Manassas Airshow. The Gold Team provided a tour of the C-31 to four future soldiers. In addition to the plane side briefs, the demonstrators laid out their parachutes and repacked them in front of approximately 350 spectators to include Vietnam Veterans, future soldiers and the remainder of our proud military supporters. Demonstrators visited with The Virginia Airborne Search and Rescue Squad as well as CEO and Baton Recipient Kevin Rychlik from American Helicopters Incorporated in order to maintain rapport with sponsors for any future airshows.

The down side of traveling away from Ft. Bragg constantly throughout the demonstration season is that the team does not get to perform for the local community that often.  Fortunately for the Gold Demonstration Team two performances came up inside of a week.  The Baldwin Elementary School was conducting their Outside Activities Day and gave the Knights a chance to give the students a thrill of a life time.  The jump was conducted in the early morning to kick off the day of fun and games for the students and faculty then was followed by the Jumpers being greeted by the students and allowing them to help pack their parachutes.  The demonstration was over early but then it was back to work to prepare for the next Jump in a couple of days.

The following local show was for the opening of the Raeford Mud Run held at the Wide Open MX Park.  It was another early day for the Gold Team as they prepare for the jump.  As the sun rose over the horizon the Golden Knights distinctively painted Twin Otter took off from Pope AAF.  The conditions were just right, clear skies and light winds just as forecasted.  The timeline was narrow for the team so as to not interfere with the runners but still went off without a hitch.  After the demonstration the jumpers were welcomed into the start area by the race coordinator and the team presented her with a Golden Knight Litho.  Some of the runners also had a chance to pose with the team before they started their muddy 10K race.  All together these local performances are sometimes the much needed break from the constant cross country traveling but most of all it is a way for the Golden Knights to say thank you to a very supportive community.

The Gold Team was given a big Texas welcome at the Dyess Big Country Air Fest in Abilene Texas.  The team was also accompanied by SSG Jared Zell and SSG Jon Ewald from the Tandem Team, as well as SFC Laura Dickmeyer from the Competition Team.  All together the team was able to put on a great show for citizens of Abilene.  The team completed three jumps while at Dyess AFB, the first was on Friday as a practice which was a mass exit and then two jumps the following day for the show.  This was the first time SSG Brian Karst and SSG Kevin Presgraves had a chance to narrate a show for the team and did so with flying colors during the performances on Saturday.

Along with putting on a demonstration the Gold Team’s Recruiting Liaison SSG Shelby Bixler and SFC Laura Dickmeyer visited Cooper High School just before the Air Show.  SFC Dickmeyer is an alumnus of Cooper High School and Physics teacher Jim Reeves had a direct impact on SFC Dickmeyer’s skydiving carrier back in 2003 and was elated to have her back in his classroom.  65 High School Juniors listened as SFC Dickmeyer explained education and carrier incentives as well as what is takes to become a member of the Army’s Elite Parachute Team.  The principal of Cooper High School accepted a signed lithograph from The Golden Knights to proudly display in their school.

The Gold Team also met some unique individuals during their time in Abilene.  Linda Preston is the mother of former Golden Knight Kirk Preston who served on the team until 1984 was greeted by the team and given VIP access during the Air Fest to show thanks for all of her support over the years.  Another Golden Knight alumnus was at the show but as a fellow performer.  Air Force A-10 Warthog Pilot MAJ John Collier served on the Gold Demonstration Team from 1996-1998 and was given a chance to ride in the Fokker with the Gold Team once again.  After the performance some of the Gold Team accompanied MAJ Collier to his aircraft to get a closer look inside of one of the Ari Force’s most famous planes.

   The United States Army Parachute Team Golden Knights, Tandem Team jumped over thirty-five Centers of Influence in support of the US Army Recruiting Battalion Houston. Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel David Nguyen, ROTC, and Family Life Church who hosted the facility and grounds for the spectacular event.

   Brilliant blue skies, huge puffy white clouds, cool breezes, lots of hugs and sounds of laughter surrounded the towering white steeple of the Family Life Church in the enchanted town of Lake Jackson, Texas this week. Over a hundred friends, family and parishioners gathered in the church parking lot daily cheering and applauding each passenger as they flew overhead to the newly mowed green pasture.

   Each morning of the camp began with numerous functions, to prepare for a safe prosperous day. It begins with the pilots checking on the upcoming weather for the day, ground control preparing the drop zone, SSG Rachel Medley meeting and greeting with the tandem passengers, video edit set up, local motorcycle police and ambulance service parked under a shade tree by the dz and the tandem team members headed over to the airport to go up in the team Twin Otter piloted by Major Craig Blackwood and Mr. David Clay to conduct a wind check load.

  Casey Curry local Meteorologist with KTRX TV-13 and Director Mike Fernau took to the skies and later broadcasted their exciting fast experience with the fans that follow TV-13 daily. Casey interviewed several other tandem passengers and concluded her jump with a brief interview with her tandem master SSG Jarred Zell. Casey asked Jarred if he ever gets excited or nervous when he jumps now and he said, “I love my job and I remember how I felt the first time I made my first jump through you! Every time I take someone on a tandem jump the energy and excitement each one shows, excites me and makes me feel good to share this once in a life time experience with them.”

   Superintendent H.D. Chambers, Baytown Police Chief David Alford, Justice of Peace Edie Connelly, Prairie View A&M University Coach Gabe Northern, USO Director Liz Vallette, Pastors of Family Life Craig Taylor, Tiffany Lunsford, and Chris Rees are some of the people which were nominated to make a tandem parachute jump in appreciation for all of the time, dedication and support to the community and the military.

Before jumping, Ashley Kamrath, Vice President of Marketing with Military Relocation Support said, “There are times in your life when you need to be cool, calm and collect, but this just isn’t one of them. I am so excited!” Approximately twenty minutes later, following her tandem jump she said,”This was the coolest thing in the world, it was so much fun, and I want to do it again. I’ve got to text mama and tell her I’m ALIVE!!!”

  While sitting in the classroom chatting with her new found friends, Chrissy Mafrige from Sam Houston State said, “Thank you so much this was so great, I’m a zip line junkie and now I think I may have to trade in for a parachute.”

  Erendira Jones sponsors a scholarship in honor of Charles William Jones.  She was one of the first jumpers today and said she was nervous and had butterflies in her stomach, but this was one of many things on her “bucket list.” Erendira and her husband John patiently waited all day long congratulating and applauding all her fellow jumpers as the day went on.

  Edie Connelly has been the Justice of Peace of Montgomery County, Texas for over twenty four years.  She is a perfect, dainty lady with a surprisingly immeasurable background. She was a former Sheriff Deputy, special crimes detective, a judo instructor and judge. I asked her had she ever done anything like this and she said, “I fly through the air doing judo with my husband quite frequently.” Both her husband and son have static line jumps, but now she has beaten them both free falling from 13,500 feet above the earth. As soon as she landed she said,”Can I do it again?”

  Edie brought a gift to the team to be placed in the Museum back at Fort Bragg. Over twenty-five years ago a local Recruiter brought her a Golden Knight Mouse Pad that she has kept and used for all these years. She asked if we had one and when she found out we didn’t, she donated it to the team as a keepsake.

 Pastor Craig Taylor said a few weeks ago, during a sermon that he had told his congregation that he would never go skydiving out of an airplane and the very next day he was contacted about the team utilizing his parish for this camp. Today he took the plunge of faith with God and placed his life in the hands of Soldiers who protect our country.

  Unfortunately, in today’s society the vast majority of people are so tied up in their own lives that they find little or no time to give back to others. The Tandem Orientation Program was developed to in some way give back to Soldiers and Centers of Influences that give so much to make America a better place for us all.

 After spending a week at Lake Jackson I found out why they say it is enchanted. It is not the land; it is the phenomenal people who live here. All of the Pastors, employees (especially Terri Kloecker), and parishioners of Family Life welcomed us with open arms, the Airport accommodated Team Six every way possible, Crosswinds Café provided excellent meals of nourishment and hospitality, LTC Nguyen, Mr. Bill Grimes, M&RA and all of the Recruiters (assisted with tandem shagging) hosted and provided remarkable support to make this camp a one of a kind event for the Golden Knights and Centers of Influence to make it a memorable event.

The Golden Knights travel in excess of 200 days out of the year to various towns through out our country so when we get a unique opportunity to perform at home it’s a great feeling to give back to our local community.  This year Gold Team was honored by jumping into the 2012 Hope Mills Youth Baseball Opening ceremonies.  The Team exited out C-31 Fokker aircraft at 10’000 feet on Saturday morning before 1500 young baseball and softball children.  SPC Trey Martin was our narrator for this morning’s mass exit show and performed it with grace and candor according to the crowd members of Hope Mills.

Upon landing at the ball park the Team proceeded to our lineup area where we were able to sign brochures and answer questions about the life as a Golden Knight.  Many of the kids and adults lined up to ask various question such as “how cold does it get at 10’000 feet?”  On the Team we love answering these questions and expressing the gratitude and thanks to our American Public.  Many of the children that were in attendance on Saturday’s performance have  a mother or father that are serving in the U.S. Army and it’s a great feeling to show the young children some of the capabilities and excitement of today’s modern airborne paratrooper!

How does a Nation properly thank the heroes who have fought through our history to secure our American way of life? Many have learned about the welcome home, that Vietnam Veterans experienced following their sacrifices during the war, with horror and appall. Often, we hear of the thankless and destructive remarks that awaited them when they arrived on American soil. Vietnam Veterans never received the proper homecoming that today’s Soldiers experience on a regular basis. The USO of North Carolina was on a mission to pay tribute to thousands who fought and returned from this guerrilla scene with the late “Vietnam Veterans Homecoming Celebration.”

Not only was Black Team proud to attend, it was a tremendous honor.

Upon arrival at our staging airport in Charlotte, NC thoughts of jumping were grim. It was drizzling rain with cloud ceilings overcast at 800 feet. As Golden Knights, we are limited to a 2,000 foot minimum exit altitude and there were no indications of weather improvements. After already making preparations for cancellations and our final weather call, the weather radar showed a small glimpse of hope. Several miles away, moving at 6 mph, there was a small area of decent weather moving in our direction. With any hope of completing the jump, we will always make the effort to complete it. Jump time came and the clouds still covered Charlotte Motor Speedway. Our 20-minute window slowly shrank as we continued to “Go-around,” making additional attempts to drop jumpers. We cancelled our jumping narrator, going to our back-up plan with one of our ground safety officers taking the microphone. Then we cancelled our line-up following the jump. On our 5th and final attempt, the aircraft buzzer rang out for another “Hot Target” signifying the airspace is clear. SSG Sanborn looked out the jump door and gleamed with a thankful smile. We all knew we were going to make the jump.

From 4,000 feet, Black Team filled the skies over Charlotte with black and gold. 60,000 veterans and family members looked to the sky and watched a modern military demonstration as our ram-air parachutes inflated and flew into a small landing area near their center stage.

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The Golden Knights regularly thank the American Public for their continued support of the men and women in our military. This is one of the largest events we’ve been able to attend that thanks prior service members and their families. Knowing these brave Soldiers fought so hard and lost so many of their comrades and friends, just to receive additional friction from their own, is a tough thought to comprehend. Being able to take a small step in showing a proper gratitude to these great Americans was a proud moment. The USO of North Carolinaput together an amazing event and any who took part can hold their heads high for honoring these veterans in a manner they deserve.

The Golden Knights have kicked off their 2012 air show season in Tuscaloosa Alabama!  This beautiful town home of the Alabama University “Crimson Tide” invited the Gold Demonstration team to perform 4 free fall parachute jumps.  One year ago, the city of Tuscaloosa braved mass devastation due to the multiple tornado outbreaks.  The 70’000 energized spectators clearly proved the strength and pride of a Crimson Tide city; although they are still in the recovering phases of this disaster.  The loyalty to their town proved successful with their ability to organize and host a completely free air show.

This year marked a new beginning for air show publicity for Gold Team by providing local media with an aerial view of a day in the life of a Golden Knight as see from above.  Over the course of this past weekend we were honored to provide seating for 17, Television, Radio, and Newspaper affiliates.  This provides a mutual coverage for both the U.S Army, the Golden Knight as well as the City of Tuscaloosa.  Schultz airshows was the sponsor for Gold Demonstration team and the complete success of this weekend was a wonderful orchestration between Dave Schultz, Tera Tubbs, and Kelsey Colglazier.

The Birmingham Recruiting Company was present for the air show and provided an H-3 Hummer and 65 future soldiers that had the opportunity to experience a hands on packing demonstration after each show’s performance.  Both recruiting liaison and demonstrators had the opportunity to speak with 4 Army ROTC Cadets about special opportunities in the U.S. Army as well as what it takes to become Army Strong!