Parachuters Target Student Drug Use

Members of the Canadian Forces Parachute Team paid a visit Friday to their pen pals at the South Bay Junior Academy in Torrance to talk about their daring canopy formations and what it’s like to jump out of an airplane.

This is the third year that the Sky Hawks, all members of the Canadian Forces regular or reserve forces, has visited the private school with 170 students in kindergarten to 10th grade.

Members of the 17-member team volunteer their time to represent the country by performing parachute demonstrations around the world and to talk about drug prevention.

“We tell them they can do anything they want by staying in school and staying away from drugs and alcohol,” said Warrant Officer Ken Murphy. “And doing what we do, we use that as a vehicle to drive home that message.”

Murphy said it’s not difficult to get the attention of the students. “The kids kind of look up to us for doing what we do,” he said.

The students had dozens of questions.

Typical queries were: “What’s it like to jump?” “Are you scared?” “What happens if your parachute doesn’t open?”

The team was unable to parachute onto the campus because it is too close to Los Angeles International Airport, but the students will see the team jump from a CC-115 Buffalo next week in Perris Valley.