Well, I don't know if had happened to any of our friends here in the forum but here goes, coz I think this is kinda "universal"

Back then when I was undergoing my National Service stint, I had a chance to undergo a course for the paratrooper Airborne Wings...

To cut it short, the instructors were playing havoc with our fears (who has not had them) about our first jump. Questions posed like this one, "What happens if the chute do not deploy" (it sounded silly now, but at that moment it was'nt) were emt with replies like "Don't worry about it, just bring it back to us and we'll give you another one..." Duhh.....

Another questioned posed was "... should the main chute do not deploy, how long do I have before I can deploy my reserve?"

Well, I think you can guess the reponse would be like- "My dear trainee, you have the rest of your life to do that!"

Needless to say, during the first jump, when I was at the door of the aircraft, the first question that was going through my mind was "What the H*ll am I doing here???"

Very nice!!

i hope i get the chance to take a course like that

Brother Matt, thats what I said when I applied for it, until I learned the hard way of a certain Chinese proverb- be careful of what you wish for. you might just get it!

But then again, looking back at it now, it was a good experience.

Thanks for the advice but i suppose that because im still young (just 17) i suffer from a serious case of non-self preservation like many other guys my age, i think when the realitiy of military life hits, ill square away damn quick. Should be exciting to jump though, im always game for a new experience, gotta try as much as i can atleast once