November 5, 2010
By CPT Choll Ence, Courtesy of Utah National Guard Public Affairs 
Kampong Speu, Cambodia

For airborne Soldiers, getting the chance to jump with airborne forces from other countries is a highly coveted and sought-after event. Such was the case for 49 Utah Army National Guard Soldiers of the 197th Special Troops Company (Airborne), 97th Troop Command, and 1st Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group.

These Soldiers participated in a friendship jump with the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces during Angkor Sentinel 2010, the Global Peace Operation Initiative capstone event, held at the newly built Training School for Multinational Peacekeeping Forces, July 12–30.

The Global Peace Operation Initiative is a State Department-led initiative to address gaps in international peacekeeping operations and normally doesn’t include a friendship jump.

According to Sergeant Major Gary Barnes, operations noncommissioned officer for Headquarters, 97th Troop Command, the idea to include a friendship jump in the exercise was first conceptualized during the initial planning conference in October 2009. However, obtaining actual approval to include the friendship jump in the exercise proved more difficult.

In fact, Barnes said the approval for the jump came only after Colonel Edward Gunderson, co-exercise support group director for Angkor Sentinel and commander of the 97th, met with defense and Army attaché, Colonel Mark Gillette, during the exercise rehearsal. Once approval for the friendship jump was granted by the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh, U.S. Pacific Command, and U.S. Army Pacific, the task of coordinating for the necessary equipment and support personnel began.

The KC-130J aircraft used during the friendship jump was supplied by the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing out of Okinawa, Japan, and the jumpmaster, safeties, parachute riggers and parachutes were all supplied by the U.S. Army’s 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, also based in Okinawa. Prior to this jump, according to Barnes, the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces, had never worked together.

Despite these challenges, the friendship jump was deemed a success as 66 U.S. and 30 Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Soldiers carried out a perfectly executed jump.