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Prison tries to unravel invasion of mystery troops
CNN Headline News ^ | july 17th, 2007 | DancesWithCats

Posted on 07/17/2007 10:17:32 AM PDT by DancesWithCats

CANON CITY, Colorado (AP) -- No, they weren't coming to the rescue. Military officials said 25 heavily armed parachutists who landed in a cornfield on the grounds of a Colorado prison last week were on a training mission but landed about 3 miles off target.

"Those were Special Operations Command forces conducting routine training," Army Col. Hans Bush, a spokesman for the command at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, said Monday. He declined to identify the units that landed at Fremont Correctional Facility but said the target was Fremont County Airport.

The special operations troops, which could include Navy Seals or Green Berets, began dropping from the sky at about 4:50 a.m. Thursday. Guards on duty, who are trained to watch the skies following a helicopter escape in 1989 from a prison near Ordway, Colorado, held their fire after noticing the parachutists were soldiers.

Guards who stopped the men and asked for identification were presented with documents that identified them only as Defense Department employees, Colorado Department of Corrections spokeswoman Katherine Sanguinetti.

"We don't know who they were and I'm not sure we'll ever know who they were," she said. "Everyone acted appropriately."

The parachute troops were armed only with rubber training bullets.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: highlytrained; oops; parachutists; prison; specialists; troops
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how embarrassing!!

1 posted on 07/17/2007 10:17:33 AM PDT by DancesWithCats
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To: DancesWithCats
A "training mission", huh?

Sounds like they need more training.

2 posted on 07/17/2007 10:20:06 AM PDT by willgolfforfood
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To: DancesWithCats

Once in awhile you miss the drop zone. My son busted a leg a couple of years ago at Bragg when they missed the drop zone and he landed in a tree.


3 posted on 07/17/2007 10:21:13 AM PDT by Old Retired Army Guy
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To: DancesWithCats
The parachute troops were armed only with rubber training bullets.

Not buying this line.

4 posted on 07/17/2007 10:23:57 AM PDT by Clam Digger
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To: DancesWithCats

ooops


5 posted on 07/17/2007 10:24:21 AM PDT by nuconvert ([there are bad people in the pistachio business] (...but his head is so tiny...))
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To: DancesWithCats
Colorado, could be 10th Group or the Jedi.

Sounds like they did a HAHO jump and miscalculated because of the tricky winds around the area.

6 posted on 07/17/2007 10:24:26 AM PDT by BGHater (My Tagline will defend freedom.)
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To: DancesWithCats

What do you want to bet the two inmates who managed to escape that night ... returned to their cells and told no one?


7 posted on 07/17/2007 10:25:36 AM PDT by Red_Devil 232 (VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)
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To: willgolfforfood
Sounds like they need more training.

This really brings back memories. I was a working in a small Colorado mountain hospital about 30 years ago when a group of Green Berets were flown in to practice night parachute jumping in mountainous terrain. All of a sudden our little ER was full of men in camo with matching face paint and sprained ankles, knees and backs. That was my first experience at removing cactus needles from various parts of the human anatomy. The officer in charge was not especially happy with them! LOL

8 posted on 07/17/2007 10:26:12 AM PDT by mollynme (cogito, ergo freepum)
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To: DancesWithCats
Only 3 miles off target? Give them fellers a medal!

Sincerely,

Katie Corrigan (Wrong Way's granddaughter)
9 posted on 07/17/2007 10:26:29 AM PDT by LIConFem (Thompson 2008. Lifetime ACU Rating: 86 -- Hunter 2008 (VP) Lifetime ACU Rating: 92)
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To: Old Retired Army Guy

Well, sure. But a THREE mile miss!?


10 posted on 07/17/2007 10:27:02 AM PDT by DancesWithCats
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To: DancesWithCats
Three miles is not a whole lot for a HAHO jump... real easy to get carried w/ the right wind current ..

That said ... doesn’t inspire a whole lotta confidence

11 posted on 07/17/2007 10:34:19 AM PDT by SubGeniusX ($29.95 Guarantees Your Salvation!!! Or TRIPLE Your Money Back!!!)
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To: SubGeniusX

‘scuse my ignorance ... what’s a HAHO jump? And do you pronounce it Hey HO?


12 posted on 07/17/2007 10:36:23 AM PDT by DancesWithCats
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To: willgolfforfood

The lights are awful little from 12,500 ft. Get your calculated release point pick the spot and go. Hope you get the wind drift right and follow the low man.

Thats why it is training.

The world is a Drop Zone and everybody is sure to hit it sometime.


13 posted on 07/17/2007 10:43:51 AM PDT by PeteB570 (Airborne, the only way to get to work in the morning.)
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To: SubGeniusX

Just checked the map, as I went to high school in Canon City. Canon City actually has an airport! I always missed on the drive down from the Springs. That part of the world is not what people from Colorado would call “mountainous”. It’s one step above desert. Or eastern Colorado, for that mater.

It is also just north of the Supermax in Florence. If that weren’t there, I don’t believe there would be many guards awake at that time of night out there. But there are lots of rattlers out there, so maybe that’s it.


14 posted on 07/17/2007 10:43:58 AM PDT by Blagden Alley
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To: DancesWithCats

Sounds like a navigator will be getting downgraded. And the aircraft commander will take some flak.


15 posted on 07/17/2007 10:44:25 AM PDT by AlaskaErik (Run, Fred run! I will send my donation as soon as you announce.)
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To: DancesWithCats

High Altitude High Opening. It’s the most difficult way to hit a target because you’re suspended by the chute at the mercy of the wind for much longer than typical lalo jumps, or even the halo jumps the SEALS are known for.


16 posted on 07/17/2007 10:45:27 AM PDT by Melas (Offending stupid people since 1963)
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To: DancesWithCats
High Altitude High Opening

Wiki on HALO/HAHO Jumps

hope this helps

17 posted on 07/17/2007 10:46:56 AM PDT by SubGeniusX ($29.95 Guarantees Your Salvation!!! Or TRIPLE Your Money Back!!!)
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To: DancesWithCats
First thing that comes to mind:


18 posted on 07/17/2007 10:48:52 AM PDT by Inquisitive1 (I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance - Socrates)
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To: DancesWithCats

In a typical HAHO exercise, the jumper will jump from the aircraft and deploy the parachute at a high altitude, 10–15 seconds after the jump (typically at 27,000 feet or so). The jumper will use a compass or GPS device for guidance while flying for 30 or more miles. The jumper must use way points and terrain features to navigate to his desired landing zone, and along the way, must correct his or her course for changes in wind speed and direction; making for a tricky navigation problem. (from Wiki)


19 posted on 07/17/2007 10:49:49 AM PDT by SubGeniusX ($29.95 Guarantees Your Salvation!!! Or TRIPLE Your Money Back!!!)
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To: DancesWithCats

What’s the big deal? Those guys are in shape, they could probably do the 3 miles back to the drop zone in 15 minutes.:)


20 posted on 07/17/2007 10:54:31 AM PDT by USNBandit (sarcasm engaged at all times)
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