Stars and Stripes has profiled the parachute riggers for Carrier Air Wing 5 on the USS Kitty Hawk. They're essential for the safety of our pilots.
Whether they're fixing a holster or scrambling for a radio, parachute riggers can be a pilot's best friend. Petty Officer 3rd Class Robert Humphrey passes a bracket for night-vision goggles to one pilot while adjusting the pistol holster for another. "Have a good flight, sir!" Humphrey calls out as the pilots head toward their F/A-18 Hornets bound for Iraq.
The squadron parachute-rigger shop is the last stop for the air crew members before they walk to the flight deck. Humphrey and his crewmates live by the parachute riggers' motto, "the last to let you down." PRs, as they're called, don't just install parachutes in ejection seats. They make sure air crew members properly don survival gear that isn't expired, broken or damaged. "We're pretty much the final quality assurance before the flight," said Humphrey, 20.
PRs for the nine are busier than ever. Pilots fly as many as 130 sorties a day, some of which drop ordnance to support ground troops in Iraq.
Posted by Alan at March 28, 2003 03:48 PM