The psalmist

David wrote, "Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing

causes them to stumble." (Psalm 119:165)

I was serving

as a Chaplain with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C. Nikki

had just been born almost a year earlier. It was just the three of us

and a 97-pound Black Lab named General.

The hours were

very long serving in the Airborne and to add to our long days, the new

division commander ordered all jumps to be at night. The theory behind

this thinking was that if we were inserted somewhere, it could very possibly

be at night. Jumping out of airplanes has a certain amount of built-in

terror, and when you add "night" to the equation, the word "terror"

takes on a whole new meaning.

As the Chaplain

for the unit, men and women would want to sit next to you or to just touch

you while getting into the aircraft. Men and women handle fear in different

ways. Some would keep their eyes closed the entire time while strapped

in. Some were in prayer, some would attempt to think of far away places

and events to occupy their minds, others would get sick and have to use

their airsick bags, which was always popular with the rest of us.

Another terror

we experienced was a new technique called "nape of the earth"

flying. This technique was to fly under the radar, which meant that we

would fly right above the treetops. This would throw us all around in

the aircraft due to the air pockets that existed that low to the ground.

At a designated

point the pilot would pull back on the stick and we would go straight

up to jump altitude of 1,250 feet. The jumpmasters would then scream to

us, "6 minutes." At this moment we were to jab our elbows into

the paratrooper next to us to alert him or her that the jump sequence

had started. Next we got the command, "Get ready."

The next command

would be, "Outboard personnel, stand up." Then, "Inboard

personnel, stand up." Then, "Hook up." This is when you

hook your static line on the overhead anchor line cable which will hopefully

open your chute when you exited the aircraft. The next command is, "Check

static lines." This is extremely important because if it is under

your arm, it will take your arm off as you exit the aircraft.

The next command

is, "Check your equipment." This is the last check you will

make before going out the dark door. The jumpmaster then gives the command,

"Sound off for equipment check." Here is where the last paratrooper

in the aircraft starts the "OK" sequence as he taps the paratrooper

in front of him or her. The "OK" finally reaches the jumpmaster

with a loud "All OK, jumpmaster." Then the real terror begins

as the loadmaster unlocks the jump door and slides it into its open locked

position.

In the Normandy

invasion of World War II, they flew with the doors off the aircraft across

the English Channel. When that door was opened I always thought of the

pits of Hell and the opening of the door of a blast furnace. It made me

happy to be a Christian!

The roar of

the engines and the blast of an open door of an aircraft traveling at

190 knots were unlike any sound I had ever heard. Then the pilot was supposed

to slow the aircraft down to 90 knots.

During the

Normandy invasion in 1944, several of the pilots got so scared because

of enemy ground fire that they put their paratroopers out at such excessive

speeds that it tore their equipment off their harnesses when they exited

the aircraft.

Then the jumpmaster

would lean out of the door to visually look for the drop zone. As you

watched his face, the blast would push his nose around to where his ear

was supposed to be. When the jumpmaster would return inside the aircraft,

his face would strangely go