-
Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg was founded as an army installation in North Carolina for special operations and airborne training. This is also where the airborne paratroopers would be flown out. -
Opening of The Jungle Warfare School
The Jungle Warfare School was opened in 1916 to help troops cope with the harsher regions of the jungle that they could not mimic in the United States. -
Forming of the 82nd Airborne Division
The forming of the 82nd Airborne Division was a very big deal because there had never been a need for a division of this nature.The 82nd Airborne was responsible for deploying a team of paratroopers in a short period of time. The team is able to leave within 18 hours before making a forced entry into a target location. This date however, is not the official start date of the 82nd Airborne Division, this was simply the date the division was formed. The official start date came 20 days later. -
Making The School Official
At first the purpose of the school was to take in certain troops and train them for a short period of time then send them back to their stations. When the school was made official large battalions of troops would come in for jungle warfare training. -
The Environment
The environment of the Panama jungles was very dangerous and humid. In the beginning of the Jungle School a record breaking anaconda was found in the jungle and even after the clean up -
Period: to
Cleaning Up The School
The school was not kept very clean or clear because it was not official and therefore not paid as much attention to. The cleanup project made the training camp much more organized and a great deal safer to train in. -
Tommy Joins The MIlitary
One year after high school Tommy joined the army to become a paratrooper. He was part of the 82nd Airborne Division also known as the "All Americans" or "America's Heros". He spent one month in the Panama Jungle Warfare School and spent the rest of his training at Fort Bragg in North Caroline. -
Back Surgery
When nearing the end of his contract Tommy got injured and had to have a back surgery. After this he was not allowed to jump from the helicopters in fear of injuring himself further.This continues to affect him now and he must think about it before he engages in any physically activity. -
Tommy Leaves the Military
This was the end of Tommy's three year contract in the military. He learned a lot about discipline and time-management that would help him in the future. He decided to use these skills and became a police officer later in life. He went through struggles of home sickness, his back injury, and the humid Panama environment but it made him who he is now. -
Closure of Panama Jungle School
The reason United States Troops were allowed to train in Panama was because of a treaty. This treaty had to end at some point and at the end of the treaty the school had to be closed. The school was closed and for another fifteen years no United States troops could train for jungle warfare. -
Establishment of a Hawaii Jungle Warfare School
For fifteen years, soldiers could not train in a jungle setting due to the closure of the Panama location. The army realized that another location for training soldiers in jungle warfare was important. The new jungle warfare school was established in Hawaii to provide the soldiers with conditions similar to Panama.
