By SUSAN KENNEDY
Repelling out of helicopters 100 feet up, enduring a rigorous obstacle course, completing a 12-mile forced march in three hours ... it was all in a week's work for a 23-year-old cadet from Lindon.
Jason Roundy, a senior, majoring in Japanese, returned to Utah on Jan. 18 after completing a two-week training course at Air Assault School in Hawaii.
'It was a very demanding course,' Roundy said, 'But it's made me a more valuable asset to the Army.'
The program, conducted at the Schofield Barracks in Oahu, consisted of a Zero Day and then four phases. According to Roundy, Zero Day was four hours of continuous physical exertion.
'We did calisthenics until we had reached total muscle failure and then did an obstacle course that tested our agility, coordination and stamina. When it was over, we were extremely tired,' Roundy said.
For each of the four phases, air assault students were required to attend classes and then apply what they had learned in real-life situations. They had to pass a written and a practical test for each phase.
After completing the classes, students applied what they had learned by setting up helicopter landing zones, repelling out of helicopters wearing 40 pounds of gear, hooking Hummers and supply nets to Blackhawk helicopters and completing a 12-mile forced march in three hours.
'It was no big deal,' Roundy said, 'although the best part of the whole thing was knowing that you were done, that you had succeeded.'
In 1995, Roundy attended Airborne School at Fort Bennion in Georgia. He spent three weeks parachuting out of airplanes at 1250 feet. All participants were required to perform five jumps, including one at night, in which they jumped with their combat equipment.