UNITED STATES: PARATROOPERS FROM UNITED STATES AND UNITED KINGDOM TAKE PART IN ONE OF THE LARGEST PARACHUTE JUMPS SINCE WORLD WAR TWO

Record ID: 337609

  • Title: UNITED STATES: PARATROOPERS FROM UNITED STATES AND UNITED KINGDOM TAKE PART IN ONE OF THE LARGEST PARACHUTE JUMPS SINCE WORLD WAR TWO
  • Date: 15th May 1996
  • Summary: FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES (MAY 15, 1996) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) 1. AERIAL OF TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT LINED UP ON RUNWAY 0.10 2. SV TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT (2 SHOTS) 0.16 3. SV AMERICAN AND BRITISH TROOPS PREPARING FOR THE DROP (6 SHOTS) 0.52 4. GV/SV TROOPS, BLACKED UP FOR NIGHT DROP, BOARDING AIRCRAFT (3 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 30th May 1996 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES
  • City:
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVAAEN7Q8TOVR7X9Z19K58F3KEPW
  • Story Text: INTRO: Thousands of paratroopers from the United States and the United Kingdom take part in one of the largest parachute jumps since World War Two.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------- Thousands of United States (U.S.) and Britishparatroopers took part in one of the largest mass parachute jumps since World War Two on Wednesday (May 15).

    The 5,100 troops, 3,800 American and 1,300 British, were taking part in a massive airborne military execise around Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

    The exercise, dubbed 'Royal Dragon', dropped soldiers including British Royal Marines and elite U.S. Army paratroopers from cargo planes and helicopters onto three drop zones in their biggest airborne landing since D-Day.

    The war games, which involve more than 53,000 troops and cover several U.S. states, are aimed at helping British and American forces hone their ability to deploy rapid reaction forces to world trouble spots, both for peacekeeping and combat.

    The scenario, which is reminiscent of Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, calls for American and British forces to come to the aid of a fictitious country named Kartuna, which has been invaded by its equally fictitious neighbour Korona.

    Kartuna takes up much of central and southeastern North Carolina and part of southern Virginia. The rest of North Carolina and parts of South Carolina, Geogria, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia make up Korona.

    The U.S. and U.K. troops jumping on Wednesday had trained together for about a month prior to the exercise, which has been four years in the planning.

    Over the next few days, troops will seize enemy objectives and "rescue" civilians from a make-believe city to evacuate them from the area.

    American Lieutenant General John Keane, commander of the 18th Airborne Corp, said the war games were a test of the combined airborne and air assault capabilities of the two countries.

    Kearne said the army and airforce were both taking special precautions to prevent accidents.

    Last week 14 American soldiers participating in the exercises were killed at Camp LeJeune in nearby Jacksonville, North Carolina when two Marine Corpshelicopters collided in the dark and crashed in the woods.


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