 The film you are about to see tells the story of the United States Army parachute-rigged. This soldier is one of the most important factors in the security of the United States. For in the final analysis, the ability of our country to respond in a matter of hours to deliver troops and supplies to any trouble spot in the world depends on his skilled hands and alert mind. The greatest demonstration of confidence has been made by thousands and thousands of paratroopers the moment they made their very first jump. This is the making of the rigor, the man in the red cap. The lives of these men may well depend on you. That is, if you're a U.S. Army parachute-rigged. As a parachute-rigger, you often jump with the men whose parachutes you have packed. As they land safely, you feel a deep pride. You know that the way you rig the heavy equipment is a major factor in deciding whether or not it will be delivered safely. Yes, your job demands a lot of know-how, attention to detail, and just plain sweat. But most of all, it requires training. As you think about it, memory takes you back to where it all began, to the start of your basic airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia. Although you aren't aware of it at the time, volunteering for airborne training is a necessary preliminary to becoming a U.S. Army parachute-rigger. They toughen you up by making you run until you think you can't run anymore. Then suddenly you discover inner physical resources you never knew you had. When you feel as if you can do a mile and four minutes, you're ready to start jump training. First, you get the feel of it by dropping from the 34-foot mock tower. Next, you jump with seven buddies as a group. Then you go higher to the 250-foot free tower. Finally, you move up to 1,250 feet and qualify as a paratrooper. At the graduation ceremony, you receive your wings and find that you are assigned to an airborne division. Your division needs parachute-riggers. Unknown to you, a personnel officer pulls the records of a few highly-rated paratroopers and gives them to the company commander of the air equipment support company. The company commander interviews you, then decides that you have the prerequisites of a parachute-rigger. He offers you the opportunity to attend the three-month parachute-riggers course. This training will qualify you for an airdrop supply company, air equipment repair and depot company, or the airborne division air equipment support company. He emphasizes that only the division's top paratroopers are eligible to become parachute-riggers. On your arrival at the parachute-rigger school, the director of the airborne department greets the new students. His words confirm the first impression that a parachute-rigger's duties are many and varied. Four weeks will be spent in learning to pack parachutes, four weeks in learning to maintain parachutes, and four weeks in learning airdrop methods. There is a wide variety in your fellow students. Some of you come from other branches of the service. The director makes it clear that it will be a difficult three months. The work will be hard, but the dividends will be rewarding. He wishes the men good luck. The packing phase of the course begins in the pack shed with emphasis on fundamentals. You learn that before a parachute can be packed, it must be properly laid out with all tangles removed. Your instructor deliberately tangles your first chute as an example of how it might arrive from the drop zone. It's in such bad shape that it looks like the only way to straighten it out will be with a pair of scissors. But your instructor explains that by following a definite procedure, you can lick the problem. First thing to look for is a key tangle. Find it and part of the puzzle is solved. As you follow his instructions, you wonder if you'll ever become as skillful as he is. Finally, after hours of practice and concentration, you realize you have acquired the knack. Once the proper layout of the parachute is mastered, you are shown how to fold the canopy. Each individual gore must be inspected and folded in correct sequence. It looks easy enough. Then you try. By now you've been taught that as soon as the canopy is folded and back on the table, you must make sure that there is no fabric in the channel. When you're satisfied that it's okay, you raise your hand for a check by the instructor. In his opinion, a three-year-old child could have done better. So you start all over again and ask yourself whatever made you want to become a parachute rigger. Finally, after more attempts than you'd care to admit, the instructor conceives that the canopy is perfectly folded. To your surprise, you find yourself feeling a little proud. The next operation in the packing phase proves a lot easier. It consists of stowing the canopy and closing the deployment bag. As soon as the instructor okays it, your bag is ready for the stowing of suspension lines. As with most phases of training, stowing of suspension lines is something the entire class practices together. You remember the trouble you had learning to fold the canopy and are determined that this time the instructor will give you an AOK on the first attempt. He doesn't like it. Again, you find practice makes perfect. When seasoned with equal parts of skill and knowledge, this time you're confident you'll pass inspection. As the days and weeks go by, you find you are learning more difficult subjects with greater speed. In fact, the entire class experiences an accelerated learning process. Now comes the first big event in your rigor training, the first moment of truth. You are given an unpacked true parachute and told to pack it for a live jump. You find yourself taking a very personal interest in the job, since it's you who will make the jump. As you fly toward the drop zone with the parachute you pack, you reach one inescapable conclusion. If it doesn't open, you fail the course in more ways than one. Well, this is where you find out. You experience a real sense of achievement when you complete your jump with a parachute you packed yourself. It is a feeling that can be shared only by those who have succeeded at something few other men have attempted. Here in the maintenance shed, here in the maintenance shed, you will be given instruction in maintaining and repairing the parachute you have learned to pack. Keeping a shoot in good condition is also vital to a jumpers safety. First you get a thorough course in operating sewing machines. So thorough that you want to apply for a pass, so you can go home and tell your mother what she's been doing wrong. Once the general art of operating sewing machines has been mastered, you learn how to use light duty machines to patch or replace sections in a canopy. Another conventional machine, the heavy duty, is used to repair harnesses and other webbing. You are also taught how to operate such specialized sewing machines as a zigzag machine, used to sew the suspension lines to the canopy. A hook-eye attaching machine for attaching hooks to parachute pack trays. A bar-tacking machine for reinforcing the ripcord pocket. And a darning machine, used to darn a small hole in the canopy. Sometimes a darning machine may not be available, so you're taught how to do the job by hand. Other hand repairs taught include replacing grommets and inspecting and assembling harness quick release assemblies. Again and again it is emphasized that no matter what type of repair you make, you must always inspect the parachute thoroughly. A special shadow box table is provided for inspection of the canopy. This table with its lights underneath allows you to spot any defect in the fabric. All defects must be noted on an inspection tag. An identical inspection is made after the defects have been repaired. This final inspection will also serve as a double check to ensure that when the paratrooper jumps, his parachute will be in perfect condition. In the airdrop hanger you will be taught how to pack cargo parachutes and rig loads. First instruction is in the packing of the G11A parachute whose canopy is 100 feet in diameter. Because of the size of the canopy, a large fan is used to help fold the gourds. Since three men are needed for the job, teamwork is important in packing it. The parachute is capable of supporting 3,500 pounds and may be used in clusters up to eight. You discover that stowing the G11A canopy into the deployment bag is an operation of much greater magnitude than with the main troop parachute. Your instructor watches every move closely, ready to stop you if you make the slightest mistake. Stowing the suspension lines isn't exactly a one-man job either. Later you find that the same general packing procedures apply to the G12D parachute which supports 2,200 pounds. Its canopy is 64 feet in diameter. You have learned to pack all the personnel and cargo parachutes in common use by the army and are now ready to learn how to rig supplies for airdrops. As with parachutes, where you started on the smallest, you are first taught to rig the two smallest loads. One of these, the A7A sling container, is capable of holding 500 pounds. The other small load, the A21, is a sling and cover container, also capable of holding 500 pounds. Both containers are used principally in drops from army aircraft. After being taught to load them on dummy aircraft in the hangar, you go out to the airfield to work on the real thing. Simultaneous instruction is given on different procedures and different aircraft. While some students are taught wing load methods, others learn door load procedures. Later, at the drop zone, you see how these loads are dropped. Non-fragile items such as blankets or clothing are rigged without parachutes and dropped free fall. Other items such as rations and gasoline are rigged with honeycomb cushioning material and a small stabilizing parachute for high velocity drops. Each student is also given a chance to be a kicker, that is you fly with the aircraft and eject a small load, such as this container with a standard parachute for a low velocity drop. Back to the airdrop rigging area and one of the most important phases of the course, rigging heavy equipment for airdrop. You are taught that a definite routine is followed in rigging all heavy equipment, beginning with preparation. To prepare this vehicle, you take such preparatory measures as installing protective covers and securing removable parts. Learn that the parachute rigger normally uses the modular type of platform for a load of this sort. This platform comes in four-foot sections and can be assembled into different sizes, eight feet to 24 feet. To prepare the platform, the tie-down clevises must be installed. After the item and the platform are prepared, the second step in the rigging routine is padding. This is done with a material called honeycomb. You are taught to take logs of honeycomb and expand them into sheets. This honeycomb padding will absorb the landing shock when the G pits the ground. Lowering this load onto the pads requires teamwork. It weighs almost two tons and it wouldn't do to drop it. The next step in the rigging routine, how to install the specific lashings that hold the item to the platform. The next step in rigging heavy equipment is attachment of parachutes. For this vehicle, one G11A parachute is used. The rigging is more than routine. A qualified parachute rigger must be able to determine which type and number of parachutes to use for each specific item. He must also decide what size and shape padding and number of lashings the item requires. And he must judge which platform will best meet a given situation. As the training continues, you realize that the same general rigging principles apply to all heavy loads. However, specific methods apply to each individual item and these must be thoroughly mastered. The assembly line method is the system a rigger will most often use when he returns to his unit. The assembly line may be as long as 200 feet and have seven stations, one for each step in the rigging. In actual operation, you as a rigger will be in charge of one of these stations, supervising personnel of the unit to whom the equipment belongs. Just as in a Detroit assembly line, preparation for the item to be rigged is all important. The honeycomb is prepared at station two. The vehicle to be rigged in this instance a jeep is prepared at this station. Wind shields are secured and other components checked. Then it is positioned on the honeycomb. At the same time, another vehicle is having lashings installed at station four. Then at the fifth station, cargo parachutes are stowed on the load. Here the release assembly and other components are prepared and placed on the vehicle. At the last station, the vehicle is given a complete inspection by a qualified parachute rigger. At the end of the line, completely rigged vehicles are placed aboard a transporter for movement to the airfield. The next day you're at the airfield ready for another crucial test. To see that the heavy equipment you have rigged will sustain the impact of an actual drop. Both the rigger and the loadmaster are experts in their respective fields and because of this, a feeling of mutual respect is enjoyed by both. The rigger's technical knowledge must be relied upon by the loadmaster for the airdrop portion of the joint inspection. This inspection is vitally important and it is thorough down to the last detail. The US Air Force 25K loader is designed for quick and efficient loading of heavy items. After the vehicle is loaded and secured, there's a second inspection to make sure that everything is still A-OK. The extraction system is checked out carefully and you're examined carefully too. For you're going to jump after the equipment you've rigged. From your seat in the aircraft, you see the extraction parachute as it inflates, pulling out the heavy drop load. You see the parachutes you packed inflate, lowering the equipment to the drop zone. The aircraft circles and you make your first tailgate jump. As you descend, you realize that with this jump you are making a great stride toward a new phase in your military career. This is the climax of your parachute rigger's training. Now you are no longer a student to your instructor. Except for the final graduation ceremonies, you are a qualified parachute rigger. Their own emotions can best be described by the way you feel when the instructor lets you try on his rigger's cap for size. It is a proud symbol of the skills, knowledge, and sense of responsibility you have gained during your three months at the Parachute Rigger School. These intangibles are most accurately summed up perhaps by words from the rigger's pledge, words that have become almost a part of you. I will keep constantly in mind that until men grow wings, their parachutes must be dependable. I will never pass over any defect, nor neglect any repair, no matter how small. I will stand ready to jump with any parachute which I have certified as properly inspected and packed. I will remember always that the other man's life is as dear to him as mine is to me. I will be sure, always. Most of all, you will never forget this, that the United States Army Paratrooper has placed in the hands of the U.S. Army Parachute Rigger his most valued possession, his life.