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A
para rigger carefully arranges the suspension lines of a
static line parachute as part of the packing process.
Photos by Cpl Cameron Jamieson, Army newspaper
Pte Andrew Treble stands ready in an MC1 parachute rig.
All
Riggers are static line parachute jump qualified, and NCOs
are expected to undertake free-fall parachute training
Para riggers receive a specialist qualification badge once
they are proficient in their trade.
Pte Kate Hodgkin concentrates as she packs a display parachute
during training.
Riggers must be able to use a variety of sewing machines
to make repairs with 100 per cent structual integrity.
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Rigging
trade at a glance
Employment
training
Basic
Parachute Course: Three weeks at Nowra.
Rigger Parachute Course: 16 Weeks at Bandiana, Victoria.
Pay
Rigger
Parachute 1 ECN 345-1:
Pte - Pay Group 2.
Rigger Parachute 2 ECN 345-2:
Pte-Cpl - Pay Group 3.
Rigger Parachute 3 ECN 345-3:
Cpl - Pay Group 4.
Supervisor Rigger Parachute ECN 345-4: Sgt - Pay Group 4.
Supervisor Rigger Parachute ECN 345-5: WO2-WO1 - Pay Group
4.
*Parachute
Riggers also receive an annual parachute allowance of $1378
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The
sky is the limit
Para
riggers putting lives on the line
 Parachute
Riggers
(MPEG Video 4.39 MB)
By
Cpl Cameron Jamieson
Do you ever get tired of having your feet anchored to the ground?
Has your working life become stale and dull? Do
you need some adrenaline? Could
you perform work that other people will trust with their lives?
If
your answer to the questions above is a very loud yes then consider
taking up the trade of Rigger Parachute.
Riggers
are the Army's specialists who maintain a wide range of Aerial Delivery
Equipment.
There
is a vast range of parachutes, parachuting instruments, air cargo
drop harnesses and helicopter lifting equipment that must be inspected,
repaired and packed.
Riggers
must be so confident with the safety of their work that they are
prepared to jump with a parachute they have packed themselves.
Potential
riggers can either enlist off the street or corps/trade transfer
into the trade.
Gender
is no barrier, with a number of women successfully entering the
trade and proving to be among the best riggers in the Army.
One
thing all potential riggers must have in common is that they volunteer
for the three-week basic parachute course.
Riggers
undertake a 16-week trade course, which can be very physically demanding
for soldiers new to the Army.
This
is because students must prepare for the parachute course barrier
test, which consists of:
- six
heaves to a cadence;
- 60
push-ups;
- 100
sit-ups; and
- 2.4km
run in the time allowed for your age group.
The
IET course demands the highest standards, with students requiring
a 100 per cent pass in all practical tests and a 80 per cent pass
in theory tests.
Instructor
WO2 Orlando Caldera says students are taught how to pack and maintain
a wide variety of equipment.
"Due
to the amount of configurations available, students have to learn
to pack about 40 different parachutes," he says.
After
the personnel parachute module, students learn how to pack cargo
and reserve parachutes.
Then
there is the repair module.
There
are seven types of sewing machines to be mastered, so that any repair
has the structural integrity required to ensure a parachute does
not explode on deployment.
Students
then learn about the ram-air parachutes used by free-fall paratroopers.
Due
to the amount of configurations available, students have to learn
to pack about 40 different parachutes.
Graduate
riggers are posted to either the Parachute Training School at Nowra
or to 176 Air Dispatch Sqn at Richmond.
More
experienced riggers can be posted to the ADE Pl at DNSDC in Moorebank,
where they can work with and test the latest equipment under trial.
NCOs
can also be posted to SASR, 10FSB and to the trade school, and are
expected to undertake free fall parachute training.
Pte
Keith Henderson, a student on the most recent IET course, decided
to corps transfer because he wanted to do something different.
"I
want to stay in the Army long term," he says.
Pte
Henderson says the course is one of the best he's done because of
the instructors.
"The
course is very hands-on, and the instructors are very willing to
help you out with whatever problem you're having," he says.
Course
mate Pte Kate Hodgkin came straight from civie-street. Inspired
to join the Army because her father had served, Pte Hodgkin chose
rigging because she also wanted to do something different.
"I've
never done anything like this before ... I think it is set up really
well, they let us do everything," she says.
The
adult learning environment also impressed Pte Hodgkin.
"They
don't yell at us if we do something wrong, they tell us where we
went wrong and we fix it," she says.
Cpl
Rod Valdivia, a rigger based at DNSDC, says that while deployments
to Bougainville and East Timor were among the highlights of his
career, the support that riggers provide to SASR is another very
interesting aspect of the job.
"You
get to see a lot of things that other people don't get to see when
you work with the regiment," he says.
Cpl
Valdivia has also travelled extensively around Australia in support
of 176 Air Dispatch Sqn's activities.
At
DNSDC, Cpl Valdivia is employed as a checker and inspector, making
sure that the 100 per cent safety integrity of the riggers' work
is maintained.
Cpl
Valdivia recommends that anyone considering a trade transfer to
Rigger Parachute first contact a rigger to discuss the pros and
cons of the job.
"There
are good and bad points to this job, just like any other,"
he says.
"But
I believe the good points far outweigh the bad points."
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