Airborne School

The US Army Airborne School, located at Ft. Benning, Georgia, is available through Army ROTC to cadets that are enrolled and contracted in our program. The Basic Airborne course is three weeks long, consisting of a ground week, tower week, and jump week. Becoming a paratrooper at Airborne School is a unique experience requiring special dedication and a desire to be challenged mentally and physically.

Contracted freshmen and sophomores have priority to attend Air Assault School, followed by juniors who have attended Advanced Camp. Cadets selected to attend AAS are chosen through an order of merit list. The OML assesses GPA, APFT score, volunteer hours, and other performance measures.

Weekly Schedule

Ground Week

During Ground Week, cadets must pass the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT). The Ground Week Airborne instruction begins with an intensive program of instruction to build individual Airborne skills. These skills prepare cadets to make a parachute jump and land safely. Students train on the mock door, the 34-foot tower and the lateral drift apparatus.

Tower Week

Tower Week completes the cadet’s individual skill training and further builds team effort skills. To go forward to Jump Week, Cadets must qualify on the Swing Lander Trainer (SLT), master the mass exit procedures from the 34-foot tower, gain canopy confidence and learn how to manipulate the parachute from the 250-foot tower, and pass all physical training requirements.

Jump Week

Successful completion of the previous weeks of training prepares Cadets for Jump Week. During Jump Week, Cadets must successfully complete five jumps at 1,250 feet from a C-130 or C-17 aircraft. Paratroopers who successfully meet course requirements are granted an additional skill identifier and are authorized to wear the coveted “Silver Wing” on their uniform.