You pull it to the right, it takes you to the right. He gave me the controls to the parachute. “Then, you’re finally getting your faculties about you. And then the cameraman disappears, and the next thing I hear is CLICK, and we snap. But it’s all just … (snaps fingers) seconds. “They pull a little chute that kind of stabilizes you, and you have a chance to look around and see what’s happening.

He has a cord in his mouth, and that’s how he’s taking pictures. Here he comes, and the next thing I know he’s 5 feet in front of my face. “I’m trying to get my senses about me, and at that point I see the cameraman. I didn’t have any earplugs, and so at that point I’m just like, ‘Oh my goodness.’ They tell you to arch your back when you’re falling and spread your feet and your hands – it helps you to create a ballast so you don’t flip. “The thing I was not prepared for is the sound of the air that’s rushing by your face and your ears as you’re flying through the clouds. They reminded him what his job is, and then … here’s the video, and we’ll let him tell the rest of the story below. “Once you’re clicked in, the feeling of ‘I’m going to fall’ didn’t bother me as much because I had something I was tethered to.”

He opened the door, put his face in front of the blowing wind and said, “This is what your face will look like if you don’t smile.”Īs they approached the jumping height of 12,000 feet, the five-point harness on his back was tethered to his jump partner.

The cameraman had one more good-natured jab. Unfortunately, I’m the better cameraman and he’s the better jumper.” 1 jumper and cameraman team within the Army. “You need to know, Tim, that you’re going to jump today with the No. His jump partner kept him laughing with this: The humor didn’t stop at the cattle prods. It didn’t help that he was sitting right in front of the open door – and wasn’t seat-belted to the metal bench he was clutching with a death grip.Īt that point, his jump partner and the cameraman decided that would be a good time to break out the dad jokes, which kept him from noticing that they had slipped a seat belt around him. But as soon as the airplane took off, his fear of heights started bouncing around in his stomach again. Then you see people gathering their chutes up and walking back in.”Ĭlimbing the rappelling wall provided plenty of heightened thrills for most of the symposium participants.įinally, it was his turn. “You sit in this room most of the morning watching others get their stuff on and go to the plane,” he said. There was extensive training, of course, and that’s when his anxiety started to kick in. Only those younger than 65 and under 220 pounds were eligible. Griffin estimates that only 15 of the 50-60 people at the symposium volunteered to jump out of an airplane. “I figured it’s the only time in my life I’ll ever do this,” he said. It was time to overcome that fear of heights. There would be a rappelling wall … and an opportunity to skydive with the Golden Knights. “I didn’t know exactly what I was saying yes to,” he said.Ī few weeks later, he got his answer. Griffin, knowing that, had never been to the summer training and didn’t hesitate to say yes when asked. In May, Grand Canyon University commissioned nine more cadets as second lieutenants in the Army. The four-day leadership symposium is designed to help college representatives recruit for their ROTC programs by demonstrating what it can do for cadets, both on their campuses and at the headquarters in Fort Knox, Kentucky. “I have this sense that I’m going to fall if I get too close.” “I am petrified,” the Vice President of Student Affairs, Dean of Students and University Pastor said. He won’t even set foot on an upper-floor balcony. Griffin and the other visitors got to inspect a tank.īut there’s much more to his July skydiving adventure at the Army ROTC Cadet Summer Training, including one salient point about sailing through the air:

Little big adventure in your face