The Guyana Defence Force has added twenty-one newly qualified paratroopers to its pool of airborne personnel after they successfully completed the sixteen-week Basic Paratrooper Course.
A release yesterday from the police said that the graduates comprise one junior officer, sixteen Ensigns from Standard Officers’ Course number 57 (SOC # 57) and four ranks from the 31 Special Forces Battalion. The students completed three basic static-line jumps and one battle jump. The sixteen Ensigns, including two females, had a 100 per cent pass rate.
Training covered physical fitness, break-fall techniques, harness procedures and other skills required for static-line parachuting, the GDF said.
At the closing ceremony, Commanding Officer of the 31 Special Forces Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Loring Benons, cautioned the graduates against carelessness, overconfidence and shortcuts, emphasising the consequences of lapses in a discipline where precision and adherence to procedure are essential.
“In this field, there is no room for carelessness, overconfidence or shortcuts. The smallest oversight can have serious consequences. This qualification is not the end of your learning, but the beginning of a continuing responsibility to remain proficient,” he stated.
He urged the graduates to maintain their skills and uphold the standards required for safe and effective parachuting throughout their careers.
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