CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. - More than 120 Indiana National Guard members earned their German jump wings in July.
Jumpers came from the Company C, 2nd Squadron, 152nd Cavalry Regiment, Long Range Surveillance, and the 181st Intelligence Wing's 113th Air Support Operation Squadron. They were trained under the watchful eye of two German jumpmasters; Lt. Col. Frank Holelzner and Sgt. Maj. Stephen Engel.
"The instructions that we are used to doing in English, they did in German so we had to pay attention to their hand motion more than anything to know exactly what we are supposed to be doing," said Capt. Adam Barlow, the Company C commander.
After following the German jumpmaster commands and their normal practice routine, the troops loaded onto a C-130 at Camp Atterbury and jumped from about 1,200 feet on a warm Saturday afternoon.
"The Germans were awesome, this was a great experience," said Staff Sgt. Ryan Link, also with the 2-152 LRS.
"It was great," said Sgt. Ryan Odonnell, a Soldier with the 2-152 LRS. "This is my first jump out of jump school and I get a second set of wings."
Indiana Army National Guard Lt. Col. Bradley Compton, the 2nd Squadron commander, said this is the first exchange with the German army and more than six years since the last foreign jump exchange with the Australian army.
"Being able to work with the Germans and be able to do an airborne operation is a brotherhood like no other," said Barlow. "And to be able to do it with a partner country and see how they have the same values, the same histories and traditions in their military the same as ours is great to see manifest in an airborne operation."