Nearly 130 U.S. soldiers assigned to the 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team, Mississippi Army National Guard, participated in a pre-Air Assault Course at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, Jan. 20, 2019. (Staff Sgt. Michael Williams/Army)
Fort Bragg, North Carolina, soldiers hoping to tap into their fast-roping skills will have to travel to get their air assault qualification, according to a Friday post on the DeGlopper Air Assault School’s Facebook page.
A lack of regular staffing and funding prompted the decision to close the school, the post said.
"For those who were lucky (or unlucky) enough to come through the course, you can always stop by the compound and do your ‘fives and dimes,’ " the post said. “We are confident that little groups of paratroopers will shudder when they hear the names ‘Sheila’ or ‘Gretchen’ for years to come.”
The school hadn’t run any classes in the last nine months, XVIII Airborne Corps spokesman Lt. Col. Michael Burns confirmed to Army Times.
Because the school had to borrow instructors and helicopters from other Bragg units to train and test, resources were unreliable, he added.
Still, since opening in 2013, DeGlopper averaged about 11 classes and graduated about 800 soldiers yearly.
The Army’s air assault school in Kentucky, Georgia and New York are still open for business.
“If you are hungry for an Army School, and want to attend Air Assault, we recommend you look to The Sabalauski Air Assault School at Fort Campbell, The Warrior Training Center at Fort Benning, or the Light Fighter School at Fort Drum,” according to the post.
Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.
