Ever dreamed of sailing through the sky with the greatest of ease? The Golden Knights, one of only three aerial demonstration teams sanctioned by the Defense Department, are looking for new team members to perform and compete.
Not to be confused with the NHL team of the same name, the Golden Knights team is composed of approximately 95 men and women. The teams has four parachute units, an aviation unit and a headquarters, according to an Army website.
Anyone who joins them will have a demanding schedule. The Knights perform at more than 100 events per year.
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Interested candidates have the chance to apply for either the parachute team or the aviation team. To join, applicants need to have a clean military and civilian criminal or disciplinary record.
Spots on the team are “highly competitive and candidates must show a skill and dedication far beyond the average skydiver in order to earn a place,” the website says.
Recently, the Golden Knights Vertical Program participated in their first competition of the calendar year, placing in second place during the Bay Brawl competition at iFly San Francisco on May 17.
The Golden Knights program goes back to 1959, when 19 airborne soldiers made up the Strategic Army Command parachute team (STRAC) with the intention of competing in the new sport of skydiving against the Soviet Union.
Three years later, the team was renamed Golden Knights, with “Golden’ signifying the color of the medals they won and “Knights” referring to the “team’s ambition to conquer the skies.”
The team has earned the Army 2,148 gold, 1,117 silver and 693 bronze medals in national and international competitions.
Noah Nash is a rising senior at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. At school, he is the editor in chief of the Collegian Magazine and the digital director of the Collegian, Kenyon's newspaper.
