Well, it appears two Georgia skydivers got just a bit more of a thrill recently than they bargained for.
It seems that on August 12, 2012, a couple of skydivers landed a bit off-target after a jump. They landed on a nearby military reservation.
What installation? The reservation for the Kings Bay Submarine Base near Saint Mary’s, Georgia.
In the past three years, seven errant jumpers have landed on base property. By sheer good luck, none have been killed when apprehended by the base’s security forces.
The military authorities were not amused. You see, the Kings Bay Submarine Base is a rather sensitive installation. Per Wikipedia, two submarine squadrons are based there. One squadron primarily has SSGNs; the other, SSBNs.
For the nautically challenged, in layman’s terms those are called “Trident submarines”.
Yeah. That kinda explains why base authorities were not amused.
All of the wayward jumpers appear to have been clients of a local firm, called “The Jumping Place”, operating out of the nearby Saint Mary’s airport. After the latest incident, the local airport authority revoked their license to operate from airport property. However, The Jumping Place’s ownership has announced it’s intent to file a complaint with the FAA regarding the action, claiming the local airport board exceeded its authority in the matter.
As much as I support free enterprise, this business needs to move it’s operations to another airport. Otherwise, one day luck will run out and an errant skydiver is going to get shot by base security forces.
And before anyone asks: no word on whether any of the skydivers involved in the recent incident called themselves “Thunder Fowl” or any other such nom de beauxeau. (smile)
Was bubble head Anton Caluori that was the subject of an earlier thread one of the jumpers?
Skydiving into secured military installations isn’t much of a “great fun-time”…I would be asking for my money back from the proprietor…moving to a new site would be a wise idea on a number of levels. Let’s hope they figure that out on their own. Too bad the “last man standing” wasn’t involved, he could add that to his drunk flying resume…
Let’s see; that’s 7 people that now have a criminal record involving trespassing on high security military installations? Yeah, THAT will look good on your pre-employment background check.
Doh!!! That’s not a good LZ…
At least they didn’t land in the nuclear weapons storage facility. The outcome might have been different if they had.
Seems a stiff fine would start keeping them away, sue the skydiving outfit.
Wasn’t there a guy that got shot in the leg after he fell out of the door during jumpmaster school and landed in a secure location on Ft Bragg? (the one blacked out on 1:50 maps, but everyone there knows who works there)
Better to land on a military base than in an alligator pond! (That actually happened, years ago. It was a fatal event for both the parachutist and the alligators.)
Some history, the airport was there before the base was built and had their main runway aligned such that planes had to take off pointing at those funny round things used for storage out in the fields, behind the wire and under watchful eyes. The airport authority, city of St Marys and government agreed to build a new runway but kept the airport RIGHT NEXT TO THE BASE vice moving it to the other side of the town when offered land and facilities to do so.
As usual, ol’ Poetrooper has a story, this one about King’s Bay Sub Base. Back in the late ’70’s, I was a military sales rep for a pharmaceutical company. While calling on the Navy medical clinic at Mayport, near Jacksonville, FL, I heard about a new base a few miles north called King’s Bay. Drove up the next day and fast-talked my way on base where I discovered the presence of the sub tender, U.S.S. Simon Lake. I approached the duty officer on the quarterdeck and a few minutes later, a Navy physician’s assistant came to escort me to sick bay. As we were walking down the starboard deck, I glanced over the rail where a boomer was tied alongside and saw this strange looking sled-like device sitting just aft of an open compartment behind the sail on the boomer’s deck. All kinds of heavy cables extended from the “sled” into the opening.
I said to the P.A., “Hey, what’s that?” and he about took my head off both verbally and physically. He had forgotten to instruct me to keep my eyes on his back and look at nothing else. I later learned from other Navy friends that I had seen an exposed towed array system, apparently when they supposedly still weren’t known to exist.
A few years later I was detained by NCIS at Long Beach Naval Station for asking too many questions out on the berthing piers about ships tied up there. I was simply trying to find out which ones had doctors aboard and were worth a sales call.
Got crossways with the security folks at Point Loma Sub Base in San Diego for asking too many questions as well.
Are you seeing the trend here? Big mouth has always been a problem…
Managed to avoid Kings Bay while I was in the Navy, but spent time there when I was a member of the USSVI (United States Submarine Veterans Inc) Kings Bay Chapter when I lived in Jacksonville. Even before 9/11 base security had no sense of humor.
Three words to remember
“Deadly Force Authorized”
Crotchity Old Bubblehead–I’ve been to Bangor and Charleston, but not King’s Bay–similar setup (Upper/Lower Base, etc.?)
Even if you’re allowed on Lower Base at Bangor, if your car dies on the way to Delta Pier/EHW, YOU STAY INSIDE IT. PERIOD.
Sparky, YEP WRT to the base setup however they have relaxed some of the rules unless movements of the big containers are in progress.
“Big containers”
Well put. I knew one FTB who used to whistle Eddy Arnold’s, “Make The World Go Away” every time they went to Battle Stations Missile until the WEPS figured it out and made him stop, and a TM on my second boat (637) who would point to one of the Mk-48’s and go, “This is my BOOMSTICK!”
Who says we didn’t have a sense of humor?