Sgt Dave Nutt deploys the parachute on Sgt Sylvia Connolly's 500th military jump. Photo provided by PTS

First female to 500

By WO2 Phil Thamm
A PARACHUTE Jump Instructor (PJI) from PTS recently became the first female to achieve 500 military descents; a milestone most male paratroopers will never reach.

Sgt Sylvia Connolly is a parachute rigger at PTS and is also the second female in 40 years to become a PJI. Her descents include static-line and free fall, with quite a number as a member of the Army Parachute Display Team, the Red Berets.

Most paratroopers like to mark such a milestone by doing a special jump. This would be just another day at the office for Sgt Connolly, who instead chose to act as a passenger for a tandem skydiving operator course.

Trainee tandem operators require qualified free fallers to act as passengers for their first few descents.

It is hard for an experienced free faller to volunteer to be a passenger and have no control, needing to place all trust in the tandem operator.

As 100 jumps is a great milestone for many paratroopers, most only dream of 500.

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