page_title: United States Army Parachute Team
section_title: Demonstration teams
hierarchical_section_title: United States Army Parachute Team / Unit organization / Demonstration teams
caption_attribution_description: English: A member of the US Army parachute team Golden Knights descending under his parachute, with an American flag.
context_page_description: The United States Army Parachute Team, nicknamed the Golden Knights, is a demonstration and competition parachute team of the United States Army. It consists of demonstration and competition parachutist teams, drawn from all branches of the U.S. Army. Members must demonstrate excellence in parachuting.
context_section_description: The two Golden Knight demonstration teams travel the United States (and occasionally overseas), performing for public audiences at venues ranging from relatively small civic events to nationally and internationally televised events (such as Monday Night Football games, NASCAR races, and large international airshows). The two, 12-member teams travel around 240 days per year, and use the team's two Fokker C-31A Troopship jump aircraft as their primary means of transportation, and sometimes the UV-18C Twin Otter Series 400 made by Viking.
  The two demonstration teams are dubbed the Gold Team and Black Team, in reference to the official U.S. Army colors.  Team members come from a variety of backgrounds in one of the 150 jobs available in the U.S. Army.  Each team has a team leader, who typically has the most time and experience performing demonstration jumps and typically holds the rank of a U.S. Army sergeant first class. 
  The 24 demonstrator positions on the team are typically held for at least three consecutive years. At the end of their tenure, soldiers then either rotate back to U.S. Army line units or they may request to stay with the team for an additional period in one of several specialty positions.  These positions are usually reserved for tandem parachute instructors, videographers, team leaders, and competition parachutists. 
  The demonstration teams perform several types of shows; each is performed to exacting standards of practice, but can also be tailored to the specific venue. These shows range from jumpers exiting the aircraft and landing in a major-league stadium, to more involved 20- or 30-minute aerial displays. The  Mass Exit show consists of multiple jumpers exiting the aircraft and forming a geometric shape, often with smoke canisters employed for additional crowd effect.  The 30-minute Full Show consists of several aircraft passes or "jump runs", with each pass consisting of one or more jumpers exiting and then performing somewhat unusual parachuting maneuvers. Once safely on the ground, the jumpers traditionally perform a ground line-up, in which each jumper is introduced and then the team usually presents a team memento to a distinguished selectee from the show audience.
  Each maneuver the Knights perform is executed with the enjoyment and safety of the audience being the paramount concern. The Golden Knights enjoy an unparalleled safety record in the professional parachuting arena, a testament to their professionalism and skill.
  For those wishing to become one of the few, the Golden Knights hold an annual tryout and selection program by which qualified U.S. Army men and women are invited to attend a grueling and mentally challenging 6-week course, while temporarily assigned to the team at Ft. Bragg. During this event, applicants typically make 150–200 freefall parachute jumps and typically lose 5-10 lbs of body weight due to the regimen of jumping, technical classes, and physical training.  
  When they are not jumping, these nascent Golden Knights learn the team's history, memorize over 13 pages of show narration verbatim, and receive public-affairs and public-speaking orientations.  At the culmination of this process, the remaining applicants who are not released from the program are "knighted" during an induction ceremony and are then put on a probationary status for a one-year period. Those soldiers who successfully complete their probationary period are then officially deemed Golden Knights and then serve their remaining three seasons as full-fledged members of the team.
caption: A Golden Knight demonstration parachutist
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