The lessons learned in the parachute program serve the Academy well in developing individual character and personal standards of excellence. It is a rigorous training schedule with heavy emphasis on safety. Before cadets make their first jump, they are drilled in ground school for more than 24 hours on proper parachuting procedures. The repetition is intended to have the jumper respond automatically and correctly should something unexpected occur during a jump. Those who want advanced training must compete for admission.
Selection is based upon an individual's maturity, abilities, and academic and military standing.
The advanced training consists of more than 150 freefall jumps which teach cadets the techniques required to control their bodies in freefall. This training allows jumpers to perform such maneuvers as turns, front and back loops, barrel rolls, and relative work formations. During the advanced course, cadets transition from a large docile square canopy used in the basic course to the high performance square canopy used by Wings of Blue. This canopy has a vertical descent rate of 2-16 feet per second and can reach forward speeds of up to 30 miles per hour. The advanced course also includes intensive practice in the jumpmaster and instructor techniques used by Wings of Blue in order to train students in the basic freefall parachuting course.