STUDENT GUIDE MILITARY FREE FALL COURSE
1. WHAT YOU ARE DOING
Military Free Fall qualifies you to put yourself on a target by parachute. The course runs over two days and three phases, and it builds in that order on purpose — you learn the gear and the sequence on the ground before you ever leave an aircraft in the air.
| Day | Phase | What Happens |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Phase 1 — Crawl | Gear brief, then boarding and exit rehearsal in a C-130 and a Chinook parked on platforms. No jumping. |
| Day 1 | Phase 2 — Walk | Controlled, non-combat jumps. Minimum four: one HALO and one HAHO from each aircraft. |
| Day 2 | Phase 3 — Run | A live combat operation inserted by jump. Target given, stick leader plans and executes. |
Read This Before Day 1
Cadre will brief the gear in Phase 1, but showing up already knowing it is the difference between keeping up and holding everyone else back.
The two things worth memorising before you arrive: what goes in your loadout, and the exit sequence. Both are in this guide.
1.1 Before You Show Up
- Mod pack current and loading without errors. Show up broken and you do not run.
- PTT working. You are graded on radio calls and you cannot make them if nobody hears you.
- Read this guide end to end.
2. YOUR GEAR
Four items. All four are required on every single jump you make in this course, and on every jump you make after it. There is no profile, no phase, and no jump where any of them is optional.
| Item | Where It Goes | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| SOLR Mask | Equipped — face / mask slot | Keeps you breathing at altitude. It has to be worn. Sitting in your inventory, it does nothing at all. |
| Personal Oxygen Bottle | In your inventory | Feeds the mask. The two only work as a pair — one without the other is the same as neither. Your altimeter comes with it. |
| MFF Javelin SR Parachute | Back slot | Your canopy. Confirm it is actually there before you board — not that you meant to grab it. |
| Jump pack | Extra slot 6 | Carried on every jump. Check the slot, not your memory. |
ALL FOUR. EVERY JUMP.
Mask equipped. Bottle in inventory. Javelin SR in the back slot. Jump pack in extra slot 6.
Cadre check this before you board. If something is missing you do not get on the aircraft, and you hold up the whole stick while you go fix it.
2.1 The Parachute
The course currently runs the MFF Javelin SR. Expect that to change at some point — if the unit moves to a different canopy, cadre will say so at the gear brief and this guide gets updated. What does not change is that it goes in the back slot and you confirm it yourself before boarding.
2.2 Your Altimeter
The altimeter readout comes with the Personal Oxygen Bottle. There is nothing separate to draw and no way to see your altitude if you left the bottle behind.
| Toggle Key | When To Use It | When To Turn It Off |
|---|---|---|
| END — press it to turn the altimeter readout off, press it again to bring it back. | Leave it on. It is the only thing telling you how much jump you have left, and on HALO it is what keeps you off the 300 m floor. | Your call, once you are under canopy and settled, if the UI is in your way. Not before. |
3. OPENING STANDARDS
Two profiles, two rules. Learn both — you fly both in Phase 2, and in Phase 3 the stick leader picks one and you fly whatever they pick and is determined for that operation.
| Profile | The Rule | What It Means In The Air |
|---|---|---|
| HALO | Minimum opening 300 m | You freefall. You may open higher, but 300 m is the floor and you never go through it. Watch your altimeter on the way down — that is what it is for. |
| HAHO | Canopy open 4 seconds after leaving the aircraft | Count it off the moment you are out the door. Four seconds, then pull. This is not a freefall profile and you should not still be falling at ten seconds. |
THE 300 Meters FLOOR
Three hundred meters is the lowest you may ever open on a HALO profile. Not a target, not a guideline — a floor.
Going through it is the single easiest way to fail a jump, and it is entirely avoidable: you are carrying a live altitude readout.
3.1 Why HAHO Is Counted, Not Read
HAHO opens seconds after you exit, so there is no time to find a number on a readout and think about it. Counting makes the openings staggered but still gives plenty of altitude for the element to continue to move together to the DLZ.
3.2 Landing
Upon landing you will fall to the ground. Be ready to move once you get up and look for cover and concealment. Once there utilize the SLL diddy, Stop, look, and Listen. Once you believe that the area is clear, drop your jump gear in that concealed position and move with your buddy to the ORP and reconsolidate with your element.
4. PHASE 1 — GROUND SCHOOL & REHEARSAL
Day 1, first block. No jumping in this phase.
4.1 Gear Brief
Cadre walk the four items in Section 2, show you where each one sits, and confirm you can find them in the arsenal yourself. You will be asked to demonstrate the END key toggle. This is also where the opening standards in Section 3 get stated out loud, so if either rule is fuzzy, ask here rather than at 3,000 feet.
4.2 Aircraft Rehearsal
A C-130 and a Chinook are set up on platforms for this. You board them, you sit in your seat, and cadre walk the whole sequence with you from boarding to exit — standing, moving, the calls, and who makes them. You do this until it is automatic, because in Phase 2 it happens for real and nobody is going to talk you through it.
- You board and take a seat. An actual seat — not standing, not hovering by the ramp.
- You stay seated. Nothing happens until the stick leader calls it.
- Cadre stop the sequence as often as they need to and explain each step.
- You will run it on both airframes. The sequence is the same in each.
4.3 The Exit Sequence
This is the core of Phase 1 and it does not change for the rest of the course. Learn it here.
- Pilots get ready.
- The stick leader calls STAND UP. This is your signal to get out of your seat — not before.
- The pilots call GREEN LIGHT.
- Stick numbers exit in their pairs, in order.
| CALL | WHO MAKES IT | WHAT YOU DO |
|---|---|---|
| STAND UP | Stick leader | Get up and move into position with your pair. Nobody stands before this call. |
| GREEN LIGHT | Pilots | Exit authorized. Pairs go in stick number order. |
| RED LIGHT | Pilots | If you have not jumped yet, you do not jump. You RTB with the aircraft. |
RED LIGHT MEANS YOU RIDE IT HOME
If a red light is called and you are still in the aircraft, that is the end of your jump. You stay aboard and return to base with the airframe.
Do not decide the call was close enough. Do not go because the pair ahead of you already went. Red light, feet on the deck, sit down.
4.4 Why Standing Up Matters
While you are seated in the aircraft, the mod is shielding you from the effects of altitude. That shielding ends the moment you stand — from then on your mask and bottle are the only things keeping you alive. That is the whole reason the gear check happens before you board and the whole reason the stick leader controls when you get up.
5. PHASE 2 — CONTROLLED JUMPS
Day 1, second block. Non-combat, start to finish.
Everything from Phase 1 now happens for real, in the air, without cadre stopping the sequence to explain it. Each jump runs the full cycle: rig, gear check, board, exit, canopy, land, rally, call up.
5.1 Your Jumps
Minimum four jumps — one HALO and one HAHO from each aircraft.
| JUMP | AIRCRAFT | PROFILE | WHAT YOU ARE PROVING |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C-130 | HALO | Clean exit, freefall, open above the 300 m floor |
| 2 | C-130 | HAHO | Clean exit, canopy open on the four-second count |
| 3 | Chinook | HALO | Same standard, different airframe |
| 4 | Chinook | HAHO | Same standard, different airframe |
Four is the minimum, not the plan. If a jump goes badly you run it again, and cadre may add jumps for the whole class if the element is not consolidating cleanly on the ground.
5.2 Your Buddy
You are paired up, and the pairing runs the entire jump. You exit together, you fly canopy together, you land together, and you regroup together. Your buddy is the first person you look for on the ground and the last person you lose track of in the air.
- Exit as a pair, in your stick number order.
- Under canopy, keep your eyes on your buddy. If you drift apart, work back toward each other rather than both flying the DZ solo.
- Land together. Landing four hundred metres from your buddy is a problem you created under canopy.
- On the ground, link up with your buddy before you do anything else.
5.3 Rally Points
A rally point is set before every jump. You are told where it is at the brief, and getting there is on you.
If you land on target
- Link up with your buddy.
- Move to the rally point.
- The element leader takes accountability.
- Once everyone is accounted for, the element leader calls up to the instructor.
If you land off target
- Get to your buddy first. Off-target recovery starts as a pair, not as an individual.
- Move together to the secondary rally point.
- Once you and your buddy have regrouped, call up to the element leader and tell them where you are.
- The element leader folds you into the accountability and calls up to the instructor when the whole element is complete.
THE CALL-UP CHAIN
Pairs call the element leader. The element leader calls the instructor. It runs in that order every time.
Do not call the instructor yourself to say you are down. Do not go silent and assume somebody watched you land. The element leader cannot report the element complete until every pair has checked in.
6. PHASE 3 — COMBAT INSERTION
Day 2. The graduation exercise.
Phase 3 is a live combat operation inserted by jump. A target is given, and from there it belongs to the stick leader: they plan the insertion, set the rally points, and run the raid.
6.1 What The Stick Leader Owns
- The insertion — aircraft, profile, exit point, and how the stick is organized.
- Rally points — primary and secondary, briefed to everyone before boarding.
- The raid — actions on the objective, and getting the element off it afterward.
6.2 What You Own
- Everything from Phases 1 and 2 still applies, and none of it gets relaxed because there is now an enemy involved.
- All four gear items.
- The exit sequence — stand up on the call, green light, out with your pair.
- Your opening standard for whatever profile the stick leader briefed.
- Your buddy, through the whole jump and onto the ground.
- The rally and the call-up chain, exactly as you ran it in Phase 2.
The Difference in Phase 3
In Phase 2 the jump was the exercise. In Phase 3 the jump is how you arrive at the exercise.
Land, get to your buddy, get to the rally, get accountability up — and then be ready to fight. An element that lands well and consolidates slowly has still failed the insertion.
6.3 Follow The Plan You Were Given
The stick leader briefs the plan and you execute it. If you land off target, you do not improvise your way to the objective — you work the secondary rally procedure and rejoin the element. Turning up alone at the target is not initiative.
7. WHO CALLS WHAT
Two leadership roles run this course, and they are not the same person. Know which one you are talking to.
| Role | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| STICK LEADER | Works in the air. Calls STAND UP in the aircraft, organises the stick and the pairs. In Phase 3 they also plan the insertion, the rally points, and the raid. |
| ELEMENT LEADER | Works on the ground. Takes accountability at the rally point and calls up to the instructor once the element is complete. Your off-target check-in goes to them. |
| PILOTS | Call GREEN LIGHT and RED LIGHT. Nothing else in the sequence is theirs, and nothing else authorizes you to exit. |
| INSTRUCTOR | Receives the element leader's accountability call. You do not report to them directly. |
7.1 Radio Calls You Make
| Call | When | To Whom |
|---|---|---|
| Comms check | Once, after boarding | The net |
| Regrouped with buddy | After you and your buddy link up off target | Element leader |
| Element accounted for | Once every pair has checked in — element leader only | Instructor |
8. WHAT FAILS A JUMP
Most of these are avoidable before you board. None of them get a warning in the air.
| Failure | Where It Happens |
|---|---|
| Missing any of the four gear items | Caught at the check — you do not board |
| Standing up before the stick leader calls it | In the aircraft |
| Exiting before green light | At the ramp |
| Jumping after red light is called | At the ramp |
| Opening below 300 m on a HALO profile | In freefall |
| Missing the four-second count on a HAHO profile | On exit |
| Losing your buddy and not calling it | Under canopy or on the ground |
| Landing and going silent instead of working the rally procedure | On the ground |
Failing a Jump Is Not Failing the Course
A bad jump gets re-run. Phase 2 has a minimum of four jumps precisely because it is expected that some of them get done twice.
What does not get re-run is a gear check you turned up unprepared for, twice running. Cadre notice the difference between a mistake and not having read this guide.
9. QUICK CARD
GEAR — EVERY JUMP
| Item | Notes |
|---|---|
| SOLR Mask | Equipped |
| Personal Oxygen Bottle | Inventory |
| MFF Javelin SR Parachute | Back slot |
| Jump pack | Extra slot 6 |
ALTIMETER
Comes with the Oxygen Bottle. END key toggles the readout off and back on. Leave it on.
HALO
Minimum opening 300 m. Never go through the floor.
HAHO
Canopy open 4 seconds after leaving the aircraft. Count it, do not read it.
EXIT SEQUENCE
Pilots ready → stick leader calls STAND UP → pilots call GREEN LIGHT → stick numbers exit in pairs.
RED LIGHT
If you have not jumped, you do not jump. RTB with the aircraft.
SEAT RULE
Stay seated until STAND UP. Seated means the mod is shielding you from altitude; standing means your kit is.
YOUR BUDDY
Exit together, fly together, land together, regroup together. Whole jump.
ON TARGET
Link up with buddy → rally point → element leader takes accountability → element leader calls the instructor.
OFF TARGET
Find your buddy → secondary rally point → call up to the element leader → they report the element complete.
ROLES
- Stick leader = in the air, calls STAND UP.
- Element leader = on the ground, owns accountability.
- Pilots = green and red light.
DAY 1
Phase 1 (gear brief + platform rehearsal, no jumping) then Phase 2 (four jumps: HALO and HAHO from each aircraft).
DAY 2
Phase 3 — combat operation by jump insertion. Stick leader plans insertion, rally points, and the raid.