Fastroping

[Parabellum]

DS, did I understand you correctly in that multiple guys can rappel down the same rope, at the same time? I know that normal rappel devices (racks, figure 8's, etc) will actually make the guy brake if weighted from below (belay, duh...). How does this device accomplish the task?

Fastroping can blow me.....along with whomever invented it.

I would rather fast rope than jump.

[Bandito]

DS, did I understand you correctly in that multiple guys can rappel down the same rope, at the same time? I know that normal rappel devices (racks, figure 8's, etc) will actually make the guy brake if weighted from below (belay, duh...). How does this device accomplish the task?

Fastroping can blow me.....along with whomever invented it.

NEGATIVE GHOSTRIDER! Multiple dudes can be hooked up simultaneously. BUT CANNOT RAPPEL at the same time. This has to be done from a top mount rigging system. With 2 Ropes tied in with two Rappers attached to each rope...you can have 8 guys on the ground in seconds. Once the first guy on the rope flies down, the second just shifts his weight out and waits the 2-3 seconds for the 1st fella to hit the ground and relieve the slack and bam! you are sliding earthbound.

That is the concept.....fast, controlled and TONS SAFER than fastroping.

[Ranger2]

I would rather jump. It just seemed safer to me. There were too many ways to get hurt fast roping. You also had to depend on everyone else in your chalk doing it right too despite too much weight and equipment.

Desert Sloth, do you remember fast roping in England near Hereford on top of that training building? Then we fast roped down to that balcony. Spence almost went over the edge of that balcony.

That was the best helecopter ride I ever had. If you know the city you will know who we were training with. I think the pilots were showing off and trying to make us sick.


Ranger2

[Bandito]

Desert Sloth, do you remember fast roping in England near Hereford on top of that training building? Then we fast roped down to that balcony. Spence almost went over the edge of that balcony.
Ranger2

Thanks for rubbing that deployment in for me there Ranger Buddy.....I was rucking through SWAMPS when you homos left for England...the BEST FUCKING DEPLOYMENT WE HAD and I was sucking it up in RS....

[Ranger2]

It really was the best deployment. We partied our asses off. I remember one day the SFC Deitrich who was the acting 1st Sargent and CO were so drunk that PT was pushed to 0800 then 0900 and then called it off.

The training was great, being OPFOR for their SERE school was great, we got to shoot in their kill house.

We were supposed to jump with their Para's but the winds were too high and we just partied for 5 straight days in Hereford. It was like spring break.

Everyone was getting laid too. I bet there are a few Ranger babies growing up over there.

I remember walking back to the base after I dropped off a British Lady and the security stopped and asked if I needed a ride. I said sure since I was walking in the wrong direction and very drunk. I opened the back door and there was about 4 passed out Rangers in the back seat. It was funny.

I also remember that two Rangers climbed the church steeple that they were repairing in town too. I am pretty sure they were arrested.

Ranger2

[Bugsy]

Do you go to fastrope school, or is it part of air assault school?

I just love readin all these DEP'ers questions.

Although, this time we all got to learn about whats on the drafting table. However I can't EVER recall a time where PT was called off for any damn reason! I would almost bet that was the first and last time they ever did so Ranger2

[Ranger2]

I am sure it was the only time it was ever called off except when someone would zonk it.

Ranger2

[Saltbitch]

NEGATIVE GHOSTRIDER! Multiple dudes can be hooked up simultaneously. BUT CANNOT RAPPEL at the same time. This has to be done from a top mount rigging system. With 2 Ropes tied in with two Rappers attached to each rope...you can have 8 guys on the ground in seconds. Once the first guy on the rope flies down, the second just shifts his weight out and waits the 2-3 seconds for the 1st fella to hit the ground and relieve the slack and bam! you are sliding earthbound.

That is the concept.....fast, controlled and TONS SAFER than fastroping.

Thanks for the clarification! It sounds like the next evolution of insert skills (as far as roping goes). Thanks for sharing.

Fastroping sucks the snot-end of my fuckstick.

[Bravo57]

We refer to it as "His and Her Jump wings" or the "Bullwinkle Badge"

I love you man... Still crying...

Ummmm... We were at Campbell for a Gunsmoke, my FSNCO asked if anyone would be willing to go to Air Assault school. Ummmm. I watched as my Ranger buddy raised his hand. (DOH) Needless to say, He went to "Air Assault School" as soon as we got back to Benning.

[Parabellum]

We refer to it as "His and Her Jump wings" or the "Bullwinkle Badge"

I love you man... Still crying...

Ummmm... We were at Campbell for a Gunsmoke, my FSNCO asked if anyone would be willing to go to Air Assault school. Ummmm. I watched as my Ranger buddy raised his hand. (DOH) Needless to say, He went to "Air Assault School" as soon as we got back to Benning.

Got some sling load training in his sleeping bag hung from the barracks.

[Southoftheborder]

Cool thread. I hope you guys don't mind my jumping in.

....Anybody,
When did they start Fast Roping?....

On the Corps' side, we began to fastrope around 1985. We had no "school" or "course" for it at the time, and just practiced utilizing helos and towers. On our TRUE Ex (Tactical Reconnaissance in and Urban Environment -- all MEUSOCs must undergo one), circa 1986, we flew around downtown NYC and practiced fastroping onto govt and police buildings.

However, I never rappelled into the jungle. I sure would have liked to do that fast ropping. Looks easy and gets you to the ground pronto! One thing I'de like to ask you guys is did you ever fast rope wearing an ruck with 80 to 100 lbs of gear plus your LBE & Rifle? I would think that slowing down with all that weight would be near impossible.

For heavily wooded areas (or those with lots of obstacles), I think that rappelling is pretty much the right way to go. Even more so when you start ramping up the gear/weight. In my unit, if you were headed out for more than a 3-5 day patrol, you would not fastrope in because of the weight, or if the insert zone was heavily wooded.

For rappelling into thick trees, we would either throw a heavily weighted bag with the rappell rope back fed into it and let it penetrate to the floor of the area or (and this second variation wasn't used as much) we would have each rappeller carry his own bag with him attached to his weak-side leg and the rope would feed out to him as he rappelled down (allowing him to negotiate the branches/etc. until he hit the ground). The second variation was only used when we were inserting from Hueys as it allowed 4 guys to insert at the same time.

....We are working with a dude who has designed a new rappel device called the Tactical Rappel Device (TRD), which allows multiple dudes to be attached to the rope (a 7mm Kermantle as opposed to the 11mm) and upon hitting the ground, you simply hit the spring loaded release and the rope drops out. All of this can be accomplished with one hand.

This device was created by requests from NAVSPECWAR due to them wanting to get away from fastroping. The engineer said that SOCOM and AFCOM also are wanting to get away from it due to the high number of injuries.

I would have like to have had this device back then. The biggest hangup to rappelling is getting off the rope quickly once you have reached the ground. This looks like the answer to that problem.

I don't think we ever had anyone injured in in my unit while fastroping (at least while I was there). As soon as this insert technique was exported to the grunts and the number of people getting on a rope and their individual weight increased (both due -- IMO -- to the unavoidable case of the dumbass which comes into play with the leaders of these poor dudes), I think I began to hear of injuries -- some serious....[/quote]

[Saltbitch]

For heavily wooded areas (or those with lots of obstacles), I think that rappelling is pretty much the right way to go. Even more so when you start ramping up the gear/weight.

As soon as this insert technique was exported to the grunts and the number of people getting on a rope and their individual weight increased (both due -- IMO -- to the unavoidable case of the dumbass which comes into play with the leaders of these poor dudes), I think I began to hear of injuries -- some serious....

[/quote]

We roped (fastrope) into a heavily wooded area....once. Two fully loaded MH-47's worth of Rangers combat ineffective within 60 seconds. So much for impressing the OC's at JRTC....

[Mitch]

We roped (fastrope) into a heavily wooded area....once. Two fully loaded MH-47's worth of Rangers combat ineffective within 60 seconds. So much for impressing the OC's at JRTC....

Was that the same incident where the 3/75 commo NCO got killed?

[Saltbitch]

Roger.

[Mitch]

Salt,

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