Pakistani Paratrooper Ranking?

[blain2]

Pakistan Army Paratrooper Training School in Peshawar trains the bulk of Army, Navy and Air Force paratroopers. The school is equipped with basic training and advanced training equipment. Basic training equipment includes the jump tower, slide ropes etc. Advanced training equipment includes the open air vertical wind tunnel to train in advanced air maneuverability with full gear for HALO and HAHO jumps.

PA and IA paratroopers do not take part in an annual para-jump event held in Florida. This event is the championship of para jumpers in the world (both civil and military). Normally the USAF Special Ops team performs on the top followed by some civilian jumpers. They are rated on complexity various in-air formations, tight & error free air-choreography (more like air ballet) and then accuracy of landing within the designated LZ. The US and NATO paratroopers get extremely advanced training on state-of-the-art Wind Tunnels to hone in their jump skills. Unfortunately in Pakistan and India, such luxuries do not exist and our troopers have to train the hard way, i.e jumping out of a plane or a helicopter.

So to answer you question again and with apologies to your brother's analysis, Both PA and IA paratroopers are not rated simply because they have not participated in any such competitions. Until they do we will never know for sure.

Valid points Xyon. However personally speaking, such ratings don't really exist or mean anything for special forces.

Pakistani PTS has conducted over 260,000 jumps (static) and about 30,000 free fall (HAHO/HALO) jumps since its inception. This is a significant number for a brigade size SF.

You are right that for show jumping you need to have alternates to actual jumps, however for operational jumps for special forces, Pakistani troops get plenty of experience. 100+ jumps per officer is not uncommon in the SSG!

The staff at the PTS is as good and experienced as any around the world (absolutely no doubt in my mind about this).

I think a distinction should be made between training for operational jumps vs. show jumping. Pakistani Special Forces do some of the show jumping stuff like Canopy relative work fairly well. However for the SF, this is not the purpose of this training. The training is for getting the troops used to this mode of transportation (airborne). Once they have qualified, then its sufficient for operational readiness purposes.

One other thing, the PAF's PTS at KK is a very good facility too. Same goes for SSGN at PNS Iqbal.

 

[shaheer_12]

hey thanks blain, very informative

 

[XYON]

Valid points Xyon. However personally speaking, such ratings don't really exist or mean anything for special forces.

Pakistani PTS has conducted over 260,000 jumps (static) and about 30,000 free fall (HAHO/HALO) jumps since its inception. This is a significant number for a brigade size SF.

You are right that for show jumping you need to have alternates to actual jumps, however for operational jumps for special forces, Pakistani troops get plenty of experience. 100+ jumps per officer is not uncommon in the SSG!

The staff at the PTS is as good and experienced as any around the world (absolutely no doubt in my mind about this).

I think a distinction should be made between training for operational jumps vs. show jumping. Pakistani Special Forces do some of the show jumping stuff like Canopy relative work fairly well. However for the SF, this is not the purpose of this training. The training is for getting the troops used to this mode of transportation (airborne). Once they have qualified, then its sufficient for operational readiness purposes.

One other thing, the PAF's PTS at KK is a very good facility too. Same goes for SSGN at PNS Iqbal.

I agree with what you have said above, but then again rating comes best after competing. That was the point of my discourse.

Only the Army PTS in Peshawar has the open-air VWT on which most of the SF and other Paratroopers train. The facilities in Kalar Kahar and PNS Iqbal are equipped with basic tower/ wire-line and wheeled dolly training equipment. They need a completely closed Vertical Wind Tunnel (VWT) to improve their air maneuverability skills for both HAHO and HALO jumps.

 

[zulfiqar74]

Keeping in view my comments above, I would sure like to give the free-fall training to some of our current political leaders (Zardari, Nawaz Sharif, Fazlu Rehman, Imran Khan etc) but without the chute in order for them to really get the experience of a free-fall from 10000 feet!!!

Imshallah. ))))