Air Assault School is a ten-day course. Most courses are held at the Sabalauski Air Assault School in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Other Air Assault courses are held at Fort Drum, New York as well as West Point, New York and Fort Benning, Georgia. The purpose of the course is to prepare soldiers for insertion, evacuation, and pathfinder missions. Training focuses on mastering rappelling techniques and sling load procedures and is divided into three phases: Combat Assault Phase, Sling Load Phase, and the Rappelling Phase.
Phase I: Combat Assault Phase
During the Combat Assault Phase, soldiers receive instruction on the following tasks: Aircraft Safety, Aircraft Orientation, Aero Medical Evacuations, Pathfinder Operations, and Combat Assault Operations including simulated combat assault on UH-60 aircraft.
Soldiers are given two tests: Written–50 question multiple choice, which the soldiers must receive 70% in order to pass, and the Hands-on–they are tested on 10 hand-and-arm signals and must correctly execute 7 of the 10 in order to pass. Soldier must pass both tests to move on to the Sling Load Phase. Soldiers are allowed one retest per exam.
Physical Fitness during this phase includes: Guerilla Drills and a three- mile ability group run, push-up improvement.
Phase II: Sling Load Phase
During the Sling Load Phase, soldiers receive instruction on the following task: Preparation, rigging and inspection of the following loads: M119 105mm Howitzer, M998 HMMWV, M998 HMMWV, Shotgun configuration, Fuel Blivets, Cargo Nets, LMTV, and Actual hook-up of a load underneath a CH-47.
Soldiers are given two test: Written–30 question multiple choice, which a soldier must score 70% in order to pass, and Hand-on–students are tested on 4 of the 6 loads taught, which a soldier must pass both tests to move on to the Rappelling Phase. Soldier are allowed one retest per exam.
Physical Fitness: Three-mile ability group run/sit-up improvement, six-mile road march with 25lbs. of equipment in 90 minutes.
Phase III: Rappelling Phase
During this phase soldiers receive instruction on the following tasks: Tying of the Swiss rappel seat, Hook-up techniques, Lock-in procedures, Combat rappel, and Belay procedures.
Soldiers will conduct 2 rappels on the wall side of the 34′ tower 9-12 rappels from the open side, and 2 rappels from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter with and without equipment.
Soldiers are tested on: Tie the Swiss rappel seat in 90 seconds with no deficiencies, Conduct 3 rappels; Non combat equipment (Hollywood) with the breaks, lock-in rappel, combat equipment rappel with three breaks. Soldiers must pass both tests to graduate and are allowed one retest per exam.
Physical Fitness: 4 mile ability group run, Circuit training, and 12-mile road march with 25lbs of equipment in 3 hours.
For further information regarding Air Assault School, please follow the links below:
Air Assault SchoolThe Sabalauski Air Assault School
