Leg day: Army cuts down on number of paid parachutists
The Army is reclassifying 20,000 paid parachutist positions to prioritize limited airborne resources for soldiers who would be the first to jump into combat.
Patty Nieberg
Published Apr 10, 2025 4:47 PM EDT
Since World War II, the number of soldiers the Army has trained to be able to jump into combat has more than doubled. But as the service prepares for a future war, it worries there are too many soldiers who need to maintain their jump status, especially those who would not actually be jumping directly into combat.
The Army is reclassifying around 20,000 paid parachutist positions to manage limited resources and prioritize airborne training for soldiers who would be the first ones on the ground, officials said. Paid parachute positions include paratroopers in airborne units as well as soldiers in other staff units.
Those soldiers who are coded as paid parachutist positions will still receive jump pay and need to maintain their jump status, according to Army officials. All soldiers are still able to go to airborne school. The change was first reported by Army Times.
“It’s not about the money, per se. It’s literally about — for the forces that will jump in the alpha echelon and fight off a potentially contested drop zone. We want them at the highest level of readiness,” Commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps Lt. Gen. Greg Anderson said on an episode of the From the Green Notebook podcast on Wednesday. “Three jumps, most of those currency jumps, is not going to get us the readiness we need.”
Soldiers are required to jump once every three months to maintain their status.
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/army-airborne-paratrooper-cuts/
