JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville loves its military and loves its football and Sunday the two will be combined once again as American heroes drop from the sky into EverBank Field.
Back by popular demand is the U.S. Special Operations Command Parachute Demonstration Team, an elite group of men and women from all branches of the U.S. Military. They are sure to have every Jacksonville Jaguars fan (even the Pittsburg Steelers fans) keeping their eyes to the sky.
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If you missed the Para-Commandos demonstration during the pre-season game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back on Aug. 8, you have another shot to see them. Weather permitting, you'll get quite the show during halftime this Sunday.
The team normally jumps from an altitude of about 12,500 feet and it takes about 3 minutes from the moment these jumpers leave the plane, to the moment they land on the field. Not only is the demonstration extremely patriotic as the jumpers free-fall thousands of feet and deploy their golden parachutes with the American flag waving proudly in the wind, it's also extremely cool.
Smoke canisters on their feet allow the crowd below to see the jumpers way up high. During their free-fall, they can reach speeds of 120 mph and maneuver their bodies to form formations in the sky.
Once those parachutes open, the para-commandos glide through the air for a precision landing onto the field. For tickets to the 1 p.m. game Sunday, visit www.Jaguars.com.
During the National Anthem back on August 8, three jumpers delivered the American flag, the POW flag and the flag of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
If you were there, you saw Sgt. First Class Kyle Margelofsky flying the Jags flag into the stadium. Before the demonstration, he told us this was his first time jumping in Jacksonville and was looking forward to the opportunity.
"It feels great, very humbling, it brings us a lot of honor and pleasure to be around a bunch of good Americans that are supportive of our military and what our nation is trying to do," Margelofsky said. "There are not too many jumpers within the Department of Defense that have this opportunity to jump into a stadium like this. It's a great opportunity that I'm never going to forget for the rest of my life."
If you want to see what it's like to jump from Margelofsky's point of view, watch the raw video from the GoPro camera that was mounted on his helmet during his test jump.
These men and women all have full time jobs at U.S. Special Operations Command headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. They all volunteer their time as Para-Commandos performing for crowds like ours around the country. You can help support the USSOCOM Parachute Demonstration Team by "liking" them on Facebook and "sharing" what they do.