What Airborne Operations taught me about leadership
"I serve in a mighty Airborne Force - famed for deeds in war - renowned for readiness in peace..." The Airborne Creed
On August 14th, 2002, President George W. Bush declared August 16th National Airborne Day to honor the legacy of military parachute operations and paratroopers. In the years before World War II, the U.S. Army experimented with several new battlefield technologies such as advancing the utility and lethality of aircraft (Army Air Corps before the U.S. Air Force) and the insertion of soldiers via parachute to name a few.
The most famous application of this technology was the airborne operations by the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions during World War II. Vertical envelopment, it is called, is a technique to envelope or surround an enemy force from all or many sides thus giving the advantage to attacker or the airborne force.
Airborne operations, still practiced today, are an inherently dangerous operation. Soldiers or paratroopers jump from aircraft at heights 500 to 1,200 feet off the ground loaded with equipment weighing more than 100 pounds, typically in the hours of darkness. These operations demand the best leadership. I spent a large portion of my career as a paratrooper. These years put my leadership to the test. I still practice the concepts I perfected as a paratrooper and a jumpmaster. Here are some.
1. Rehearse! Many would describe the preparation for an airborne operation as laborious, monotonous, and even painful. Several hours before a parachute drop - "pre-jump," it's called, paratroopers assemble to get organized into chalks or numbered groups. Rehearsals begin where paratroopers practice parachute landing falls, the exiting of mock aircraft, and emergency spare chute deployment. These rehearsals are never bypassed. It is here where leaders can detect a paratrooper who is not ready for the operation. It is here where leaders can mitigate injury and tactical mission failure.
2. Inspect! Prior to an airborne operation, many inspections occur. There are no shortcuts to these inspections. They are marked by discipline and extreme attention to detail. Equipment will be prepared for the drop and inspected. Paratroopers are inspected as they practice exiting mock aircraft and parachute landing falls. Parachutes are inspected once donned by qualified jumpmasters and aircraft are inspected for obstacles and sharp edges which may impede paratroopers and or sever static lines, the cords which help deploy parachutes.
3. Initiative! Take the initiative guided by commander’s intent. Airborne operations are orderly in terms of chalks, aircraft, and equipment, but they are anything but orderly in execution. Once deployed from aircraft, paratroopers may find themselves scattered across a wide swath of countryside separated from their leaders and teams. Because this is likely, paratroopers form and operate in small groups once on the ground guided by their commander’s intent. They hit the ground, place their equipment into operation, assemble in small groups and conduct their mission whether they are with their normal teammates or not. The parachute operations on D-Day in 1944 found men and their organic units scattered across the French countryside. Guided by a clear set of orders – “open causeways to support the seaborne assault and the penetration of ground forces deeper into France,” small groups of paratroopers assembled and moved to bridge sites and roadways to secure them. Small groups of paratroopers moved to German artillery to destroy the guns so they could not fire on advancing forces.
If one could not lead, they would not make it as a paratrooper. Airborne leaders would set the example for paratroopers to emulate. They would teach, coach and mentor the young. Many young paratroopers aspired to be like their leaders – the ones who led rehearsals with expertise and professionalism, conducted inspections with patience, and detail, and who demonstrated initiative on drop zones in the middle of the night leading through the chaos guided by a common mission.
I remain humbled that I served with and led paratroopers. I've carried the lessons of leadership being a paratrooper taught me into my encore life. You won’t see me falling from the sky anymore, but I still lead like a paratrooper forming small groups and accomplishing missions, rehearsing, inspecting, and taking the initiative.
Watch an airborne operation and a paratrooper here and here.
Happy National Airborne Day to all paratroopers past, present, and future! Airborne All The Way!
Rob
Rob Campbell