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Smokejumper Magazine, July 2014 National Smokejumper Association Eastern Washington University EWU Digital Commons Smokejumper and Static Line Magazines University Archives & Special Collections 7-1-2014 Smokejumper Magazine, July 2014 National Smokejumper Association Holly Neill Chuck Sheley Jack Cahill Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.ewu.edu/smokejumper_mag Recommended Citation National Smokejumper Association; Neill, Holly; Sheley, Chuck; and Cahill, Jack, "Smokejumper Magazine, July 2014" (2014). Smokejumper and Static Line Magazines. 88. https://dc.ewu.edu/smokejumper_mag/88 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the University Archives & Special Collections at EWU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Smokejumper and Static Line Magazines by an authorized administrator of EWU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The National Smokejumper Quarterly Magazine Association July 2014 Smokejumper Personal Investigation into Yarnell Fire ........................................... 4 Long Cheng Visited ....................................................................... 13 Early Days with Air America ......................................................... 26 CONTENTS Message from Message from the President ....................................2 A Personal Investigative Journey into the Yarnell Hill fire ...................................4 the President Touching All Bases................................................10 Dunton 2013 Smokejumper Leadership Awards sion making positions before any Announced ....................................................12 “point of no return” is reached: Long Cheng Visited 39 Years After CIA/Jumpers Left ............................................13 Shep Johnson: A More Than Interesting Life .........18 1. Generally speaking, the BLM Early Days with Air America ..................................26 and USFS have primary re- And If You Find Out, I’ll Have to Kill You ...............28 sponsibility for controlling fires Air America—It’s a Pay Issue! ..............................29 in different environments. The Book Review: “Kickers”........................................30 BLM in Alaska and the Great Book Review: “Hog’s Exit” ....................................31 Basin are dealing with typically Off the List ............................................................34 higher wind conditions, more Good Samaritan Fund contributions .....................36 open landing areas and smaller Sounding Off from the editor ................................37 timber, whereas the USFS in A Life That Reads Like a Book— by Jim Cherry the Pacific Northwest from Carl Gidlund ..................................................38 (Missoula ’57) northern California to Canada The View from Outside the Fence ..........................40 President and the northern Rockies have Tribute to Ron Campbell, a Master of Inspiring There is a growing controversy less wind, taller timber and and Developing Potential ...............................41 in the smokejumper community tighter landing areas. Again, Blast from the Past................................................43 regarding parachute systems. It’s these are generalizations and Smokejumping Legends Floyd and Lloyd Whitaker ........................................................44 a controversy over whether the there are always exceptions. Odds and Ends .....................................................45 ram-air, or “square” system used However, given these general- The Rack ..............................................................47 by the BLM, should become the izations, is it not appropriate standard for all of the smoke- to have parachute systems that jumper program, which would are best suited to handle these mean phasing out the “rounds” different conditions? That has used by the USFS. Some of this been the track record of the transition to squares has already past. taken place as BLM jumpers The USFS in using the have been involved in training “rounds” has had an outstand- SMOKEJUMPER, Issue No. 85, July 2014 USFS jumpers to become profi- ing record of being able to put ISSN 1532-6160 cient users of the squares. For a men and women on the ground Smokejumper is published quarterly by: The National Smokejumper Association number of years, some fires have in a very effective manner for c/o 10 Judy Lane been jumped with mixed loads of nearly 75 years. The USFS has Chico, CA 95926 rounds and squares. also been jumping successfully The opinions of the writers are their own and do I want to make it clear that the with rounds on the Gila N.F. not necessarily reflect those of the NSA. Permis- sion to reproduce Smokejumper in any manner National Smokejumper Associa- in New Mexico for over 50 must first be obtained in writing. tion does not have a position with years and that’s a place noted NSA Web site: http://www.smokejumpers.com regard to whether one parachute for being windy. As the BLM Managing Editor: Chuck Sheley system is superior over the other. smokejumper program devel- Associate Editor: Ed Booth It is apparent, however, that sides oped in Alaska and the Great Editing: K. G. Sheley are being drawn and tensions are Basin, the “square” became the Photo Editor: Johnny Kirkley rising as decision-making time is parachute of choice in an effort Illustrators: Dan Veenendaal, and Eric Rajala drawing near. to manage the higher wind con- Printing: Larry S. Jackson, Heidelberg Graphics, Speaking solely for myself, I ditions. When smokejumpers www.HeidelbergGraphics.com want to share some of the ques- were needed to handle fire busts Front cover photo: L–R: Malcolm Creelman, tions that I have and that I think that required bringing together Fred Rohrbach, Bob Dayton, Chuck Sheley, Long Cheng, Laos, Feb. 2014. (Courtesy need to be addressed openly and both BLM and USFS jumpers, Bob Dayton) honestly by those in the final deci- it has been possible (and practi- National Reunion, Missoula, July 17–19, 2015 2 75th Anniversary of Smokejumping cal) to fly mixed loads of jumpers and drop them from to replace the ripcord with a static line. With the the elevations appropriate for the specific parachute onset of WWII, parachute equipment was hard to system. So the questions that need to be answered come by and other round parachutes came on line, are this: “Will a change to a single parachute system for so there was a switch to the standard military issue both the BLM and the USFS provide a demonstrable 28’ chute with Derry Slots added. The Eagle chute, advantage over the present two-system mode?” and “If with its spine-jarring opening shock, was phased there are compelling reasons for eliminating ‘mixed’ out in favor of the Irvin chute. Over the years other loads of rounds and squares, what are they?” improvements were made that would further reduce opening shock, reduce the chance of malfunctions 2. Jumper safety is a major concern. Over the nearly 75 and increase landing accuracy. The bottom line is years of the smokejumper program, there have been that, to the best of my knowledge in nearly 75 years, numerous changes in the round parachute design there has never been a fatality or a career-ending ac- that have made its use both safer and more accurate. cident as a result of a malfunction with a round. That Jeff Davis (MSO 57) wrote a comprehensive article is not to say that there never will be at some point in on the development of the round in the April 2012 the future. Yes, I know that injuries have occurred issue of this magazine. From the time of the first on landing and from mid-air collisions and some training and fire jumps in 1940, it didn’t take long have been career ending, but that’s not the same as a failure of the parachute system. The same cannot be said for the ram-air system. I am aware of three deaths, the most recent being last year. I do not know NSA Members—Save the circumstances of how those failures came to be. This Information The point I want to make is that all injuries are not Please contact the following persons the same and if there is going to be a transitional directly if you have business or questions: adjustment between the use of the ram-air and the rounds, there needs to be a full disclosure of the risks Smokejumper magazine involved. So the question that I raise regarding the Articles, obits, change of address safety of parachute systems is this: “For each of the Chuck Sheley parachute systems currently in use, what are the statistics 530-893-0436 for the following? [email protected] A. Deaths that occurred on the parachute system 10 Judy Ln. and their causes. Chico, CA 95926 Membership John McDaniel 785-668-2093 Are You Going to Be [email protected] “Temporarily Away”? P.O. Box 105 Falun, KS 67442-0105 As more of our membership moves with the weath- All else er, we are getting an ever-increasing number of Smoke- NSA President jumper magazines returned by the post office marked Jim Cherry “Temporarily Away.” Since we mail the magazine via bulk mail, it is not forwarded, and we are charged first 641-927-4428 class postage for its return. [email protected] If you are leaving your mailing address during the 2335 300th St. months of March, June, September and/or Decem- Ventura, IA 50482-8502 ber, please let Chuck Sheley know. He can hold your magazine and mail it upon your return OR mail it to Smokejumper base abbreviations: your seasonal address. Please help us save this triple Anchorage .......... ANC Grangeville ........ GAC Redding .............RDD Boise ................. NIFC Idaho City
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