It took four minutes for the skydivers to land – the last guy down at exactly 7:11 p.m.
The retired military serviceman had dropped out of a plane at 10,500 feet, as one towed a gigantic American flag. The aerial display to “God Bless The USA” gained a roar from the audience as it opened the Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo at the Montezuma County Fairgrounds on June 12.
Before the men were spotted as tiny dots on the blue sky, a video board recounted 250 years of American history.
A narration went back to frozen valleys of the American Revolution or the “covered wagons pushing West” to the Civil War, World Wars and the Civil Rights Movement. The video portrayed the national story as a story of struggles, wars and setbacks, yet a country that came together and persevered – one built by “dreamers” who advanced aspects of life from large-scale manufacturing to cellphones.
As the parachutists came to view, the message became about recognizing men and women serving in wars. It emphasized sacrifice, resilience, loss and freedom as red, white and blue smoke provided high drama to the men in Army fatigues touching ground.
The crowd roared and professional rodeo emcee Jody Carper announced each of their names as he welcomed fans.
The crew giving the opening demonstration was the Frog-X Parachute Team, led by retired reconnaissance Marine Marc Hogue. The team, made up of veterans from the U.S. Marines, Army, Special Operations Forces and Navy SEALS, travel across the U.S. jumping for rodeos, sporting events, golf tournaments and military tributes.
Hogue has done about 16,840 jumps over four decades, and other group members jump frequently as part of their second careers at his skydiving center in Phoenix.
“What makes it interesting is every single jump is a little bit different,” he said. “With the heat, wind and the altitude, there’s always little things and that makes it more challenging.”
Jumpers deal with different elevations, changing wind directions and American flags that vary in size and weight.
What Hogue calls “more an art than a science,” demands prep.
The crew arrived hours before the show to assess the weather and run a test – all to gauge a safe landing that’s precisely on time. They told rodeo organizers just hours before the jump the winds were on the edge of what they could accept.
Ground safety officer Andy Davidson remained at the fairground gathering data and relaying readings to update the plane.
“As normal, as you get near sunset, the winds tend to die down,” Hogue said, explaining that wind speed for this type of jump is limited at 15 mph.
Nearing start time, Davidson didn’t gauge a reading above 12 mph.
Friday’s plane was flown by senior pilot at Skydive Phoenix Jennifer Black. Parachutists were Hogue; retired Army Sergeant First Class Joel Theriot, who carried the flag; and Chris Altman, a chief warrant officer, who’s since retired from the U.S. Army after 30 years. The crew opened the Saturday rodeo, marking the second year in a row they performed for local fans.
The dive takes about a minute of free falling before parachutists open the chute, somewhere around 3,000 to 5,000 feet above the ground. It requires a great amount of experience and an expert parachutist certification, what’s known as a pro rating.
Each jump brings risk and technicalities, Hogue said, depending where the team performs, including demonstrations encompassing major cities, at various high elevations, terrain, or structures, like sports stadiums.
“A lot of times, we’ll jump and they’ll play the national anthem. When we get to about 2,000 feet, they’ll start the music and the big flag lands on the last note of the national anthem,” Hogue said, before Theriot added “there’s not a dry eye in the house.”
Hogue’s team demonstrations are a regular at the LIV Golf tournament, performed for Major League Baseball World Series games, at the Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Ravens and Minneapolis Vikings stadiums, as well as jumps for five home games at the University of Arizona’s football stadium.
“My favorite is the patriotism,” Theriot said. “We’ve not gone to one place where they’re not like, ‘I love America.’ And when we come in and that flag comes in, you can see everybody stop or put a hand on their heart.”
He added: “It’s just fills me up with pride.”
awatson@the-journal.com
