Chronicle Editor
WATCH AND BE WOWED
The crowd at Barbourfields Stadium was treated to spectacular army parachute displays by the army team.
The team members are all professional soldiers and officers, most with experience.
After President Mnangagwa delivered the Independence celebrations keynote address, the team entertained the crowd of thousands with thrilling displays that were broadcast on the television and the internet.
The parachute team delivers world-class parachute display and is capable of jumping at night, onto water, with smoke and with flags.
All members of the parachute team are known as paratroopers or a military parachutists – someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force.
Military parachutists and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World War II for troop distribution and transportation.
Paratroopers are often used in surprise attacks, to seize strategic objectives such as airfields or bridges.
Paratroopers jump out of airplanes and use parachutes to land safely on the ground. This is one of the three types of “forced entry” strategic techniques for entering a theatre of war; the other two being by land and by water.
Their tactical advantage of entering the battlefield from the air is that they can attack areas not directly accessible by other transport. The ability of air assault to enter the battlefield from any location allows paratroopers to evade emplaced fortifications that guard from attack from a specific direction.
The possible use of paratroopers also forces defenders to spread out to protect other areas which would otherwise be safe. Another common use for paratroopers is to establish an airhead for landing other units, as at the Battle of Crete.
Online Reporter