Condolences to the family.
The jargon "unplanned parachute departure" is frankly obfuscating, even parodic of the simpler label of "accidental" parachute fall or even an "unintended" one. It is also ambiguous to the point of obscuring who is the "unplanned" supposed to apply to--the army or the parachuter. Could suicide be at issue? Was this an "unplanned" jump made intentionally by the airman? Why are the details of the fall so fuzzy? Did no one see him fall?
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Many of our troops have been injured or killed in training accidents such as this in peace and in war. The sacrifice they made is just as important as those made by troops in battle.
We can sleep well because of men and women such as this young Airman.
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Thanks. Your explanation makes all kinds of sense about what happened after Ssgt Cole entered the water. It’s how he exited the plane that doesn’t make sense.
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There was an article in Bloomberg about a gentleman who worked the Coast Guard whose career was all about developing the practice of finding people lost at sea. Fascinating and worth the read...
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Tragic. But I am surprised the story says nothing about how high up the plane was flying when the he fell from it.
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This is very sad and I am so sorry for the man and his family. But I agree that the story seems odd. If, as reported, and I believe it, he was jerked out by the parachute it seems like they should have been able to see him and rescue him. Something went very wrong here and I hope that people are telling the truth. Clearly flying around for days makes very little difference while trying to retrieve him immediately should have been done.
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He served in Afganistan and Africa. One is a country, the other a continent. Why do we so often say Africa rather than taking two minutes to note the country? There is a world of difference between Morroco and Madagascar.
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@joan
Operational security.
We are known to be operating in Afghanistan, but conduct operations elsewhere where public knowledge might not be safe for those involved.
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Some give all. My condolences to his family and his team. I pray for comfort and strength in the days and years ahead, and thank them for his service and their sacrifice.
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RIP
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Something's not right with this story. I don't believe the account the military is putting forward.
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@me Yes, I remember that it was initially reported that the man was spotted by a plane who lost him when they circled back.
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@me I agree. Were it just a man in the water I can see he would be hard to spot between the waves. But the article states his parachute deployed inside the aircraft and yanked him out. A white parachute floating on the water's surface should be easy to spot.
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23 year retired veteran, military free fall and static line jumpmaster instructor. Info is consistent from the limited info I have seen, although lots of details remain unknown. This is what it appears at this stage. Ssgt Cole was planning on doing a low level static line land jump. I believe that the drop zones at Hurlburt are far enough away from water that jumpers are not required to wear flotation devices that would help keep the jumpers head above water if he landed in water. The reserve chute attaches to 2 d rings on the front of the parachute harness on jumpers chest. Importantly, one cannot get out of the harness which also has the main unopened chute on his back without releasing one of the clips that secure the reserve Chute to the d ring. You are trapped in the harness attached to both chutes unless you release the clip. This is not easy to do in the water, it is not easy to see or access, especially underwater. The jumper normally releases one clip before he hits the water, but that can’t do that if the reserve chute is deployed. If a jumper is not familiar doing a lot of water jumps he could have great trouble releasing the reserve chute clip once he is in the water, and thus be able to escape from his harness with the main chute still attached. Both of these (the deployed reserve and the main chute) would quickly become negative buoyant and pull him under if the jumper could not separate from them and as he he tired treading water trying to stay afloat.
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