RAEFORD, N.C. – Marines with 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion took part in a two-week jump training event where Marines practice jumping from an aircraft into a drop zone with additional personnel and equipment in Raeford, N.C. Nov. 1, 2016.
The course is split into two portions. The first portion covers the Tandem Offset Resupply Delivery System Equipment while the second is the Tandem Offset Resupply Delivery System Personnel portion.
“The purpose of TORDS is to give the unit the ability to jump into a drop zone with non-freefall personnel,” said Staff Sgt. Daniel Burnap, a military freefall team leader with 2nd Recon Bn. “This capability comes into play when you have support personnel who are not airborne qualified that may need to join a recon team on a mission.”
During the TORDSE portion of the course, Marines practice jumping into a drop zone with military gear and supplies.
“It allows a single person to be able to jump in with up to 500 extra pounds of gear for his team that’s doing any type of mission to sustain operations longer,” said Burnap. “If a unit needs a resupply, a Marine can jump in extra water, ammunition or even blood and IVs.”
Five Marines conducted the TORDSP portion of the course, and 10 Marines conducted the TORDSE portion of the course. The Marines received about 30 hours of classroom instruction. During the course Marines fell from 12,000 to 13,000 feet.
“It is quite the adrenalin rush,” said Sgt. Thomas P. Mooney, a military freefall team leader with the unit. “You can get little bit nervous at times, but build a lot of trust and confidence with other guys your jumping with since we sit in the same classes and we go through all the same training. You begin to really rely on them and you know that everything is going to be fine.”