OPERATION MUSKETEER
It was with fond memories of
The whole event had been overseen by WO1 Yoav Dror of the IDF with the assistance of the IDF, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Tourism and the Israeli Federation of Parachuting. The organisation from start to finish was first class and I was met at the airport by a lovely young lady who took me to the front of the arrivals and to a separate arrival booth, passport stamped, picked up my luggage and then a personal presentation by the Ministry of Tourism and then introduced to my driver that Yoav had arranged.
I was delivered safely to my hotel and awaited the rest of
the participants who had arrived some days earlier and were on a day trip in the
The next day was a reasonable start at 0600hrs with a hearty
breakfast (unfortunately not a good old English Breakfast – for the obvious
reason!). It was then on the coach at 0630hrs to the
Niel Brown and Fred Korzcak displaying the Pathfinder Jump
Honour Colours at Tel Nof
We were introduced to our Israeli instructors and went our separate ways around the school, the French in their own group, the Italians in another the Americans (and waifs and strays) in another and the South African (plus myself) in the last group.
In addition, some personnel had brought their wives/girlfriends with them, they were catered for and hosted by the IDF and were able to watch their loved ones undergo the training facilities.
The first thing to mention here is that Tel Nof is an active military base, the training facilities are the real thing – in other words “Big Boys Toys”. Full size C-130 and Jolly Green Giant mock ups adorn the training area, swings, PLF pits, “Knacker Crackers” and fans. The training essentially took a “Round Robbin” approach getting everybody back in the swing of things and doing the drills for C-130 exits in the IDF manner – no real differences. Ground Training went on with a huge lunch thrown in for good measure. We did not go hungry or thirsty throughout the day. After the training was over it was into a briefing room where we got the jump brief and had the DZ explained to us.
After this we had a demonstration and briefing by Octet. This
was not an 8 piece band but was, in fact, a very professional counter terrorist
unit, we were shown the K9 side of the unit as well as weapons, specialist
equipment and got to speak to a number of their members.
Coming from a unit that plays a
comparable role in the war on terrorism in the UK I have a very professional
interest in this type of work and wish I could have spent more time as I had so
many questions to ask. I declined to handle any weapons in case a photograph
emerged in the Sunday newspapers of a British Soldier in
We were then bussed to the Israeli Defence Force Armoured
Corps Centre at Latrun where we did a quick rehearsal for the wings parade –
this included responding to Hebrew words of command which we all did very well.
We then got a tour of the tanks on site which included a large historical
section – if you like Sherman tanks then this is the place for you – they have
almost every conceivable Sherman variant at this site, including ex British
D-Day mine clearing “Flaying” Sherman tanks.
I lost count of
After this we were bussed to a centre called “Mini Israel” where yet another banquet was laid on for us, plenty of music, singing and even skydivers were put on in our honour. We were able to walk around Mini Israel and see areas of interest in miniature and finally we got back to the hotel at around 2300hrs in time for the next days event.
The next morning we awoke at 0230hrs, had a sleepy breakfast and were on the road to Tel Nof by 0315hrs. We drew our parachutes (US T10’s) alongside an equal number of Israeli paratroopers (including females) and then ended up on the airfield in chalk order (more cool drinks and biscuits laid on). At 0700hrs the first C-130 came in, looking resplendent in its Israeli Air Force camouflage with the Star of David insignia on the airframe. There were to be two lifts with four sticks between 10 and 7 in each stick on both the Port and Starboard sides in each drop, the drop was going to be sim sticks, I was number 2 in the fourth (last) stick on the port side, consisting of myself and 6 South Africans, the starboard stick consisted of 7 Israeli’s.
We took off singing the song the South Africans use to (supposedly) help the aircraft leave the ground, quickly followed by the Israeli version we had been taught the day before, it was all extremely jolly and we left the ground eventually reaching our drop height of 1200ft (so we could have a better view of Israel we were told). I watched the first three sticks exit and finally the alarm sounded twice and it was our turn, we stood up, checked off and then finally moved up to the doorway, green came on and we were dispatched at a nice rate, plenty of time to assume a good stance in the doorway and then it was out the door. I could see the sea from this height and below me stretched an area of desert – this was the Palmachim DZ. I conversed with a South African above me and between us we steered away and prevented a collision, all done slickly and professionally and then it was pick my spot and prepare for landing. I landed about 2 feet from the top of the “T”, gave a whoop, said hello to the two Israeli soldiers manning it and then helped one of the Israeli paratroopers from the Starboard stick who had banged his head and was lying there a little dazed, by the time I had helped him from his harness he had recovered and we walked to the RV together chatting about life, the universe and the World Cup!
We got to the RV, handed in our kit and then exited the DZ to
where a families stand had been erected in the desert, complete with shelter,
ice cold drinks and food etc. Log
Books were signed and stamped by the Commandant of the Paratrooper School (we
were all given Israeli Paratrooper Log Books) and then it was on the coaches and
off for the wings parade. The
parade went very well although it did drag on somewhat as everything had to be
said in Hebrew, French, Italian and English.
We were then invited to what can only be described as an IDF
“Extravaganza” where huge screens showed the history of
Niel Brown on
Palmachim DZ
All in all, this trip was fantastic, very well organised and
family friendly as well. The
training facilities are first class, the instruction, although only revision for
all of us, was first class and we bonded with our instructors (who were also our
dispatchers). We were looked after
extremely well and the Israeli soldiers were over the moon when they saw a
British soldier, in uniform wearing Israeli wings – I could not walk far without
being stopped and having to have my photo taken with them and having to swap
items of kit! It is important for
the Israeli’s to know that they have friends in the world that sympathise and
support
SSgt. Niel Brown
Pathfinder