Talk:AFOH/@comment-27015223-20151006084239/@comment-27015223-20151006170738

OOC: Ok understood. The 1st Airborne/Amphibious Assault Battalion's Bravo Company will now commence operations.

IC: (Lieutenant Colonel Bennings, CO of Bravo Company (Tank) 1st A/AA Battalion. NOTE: A/AA Companies are commanded by majors, with captains as XO, and 1st Lieutenants or Master Sergeants as Platoon leaders. Bennings is slotted to command the entire battalion, but is currently Bravo Company's commander because it is the only operational unit.)

The Thunderer was aptly named, in Benning's opinion. Its engines were so loud that the soldiers in its cargo hold couldn't hear the engines of their Griffin Light Tanks start up as they prepared for the drop when the red light flicked on. Unfortunately, that was the least of Benning's worries now. He'd originally joined the Military Academy because he liked tanks. He'd excelled at armored warfare, so naturally he'd been chosen for the new elite outfit they were creating. What Benning's hadn't expected, however, was the hellish training he'd have to go through. The amphibious assault training wasn't so bad...they'd stayed on the planet's surface at least. It was getting airborne qualified that'd almost made him decide that he was old enough to retire now. Then came getting airborne qualified INSIDE A TANK. He was about to go through that terrifying experience. Again.

The 22 Griffins of Bravo company were in two lines, and would be dropping out of the Thunderer's loading ramp two by two. Between the two lines stood the JumpMaster, signalling the tank crews in all the procedures of getting ready to jump. The mechanism they used was quite elegant actually: the first tank released a pilot chute that dragged it out of the plane and deployed its main chutes. The pallet of the tank dragged out and deployed the pilot chute of the next tank...and so on the chain reaction went until everyone was out.

All the preparations were done now. Benning climbed into the commander's cupola and strapped himself very carefully and very securely into his seat. He would need it.

In the cargo hold, the green light flashed on, and the jump master screamed, "GO! GO! GO!" as he signalled at two assistant jump masters on either side. Seeing but unable to hear their boss the assistants nevertheless released the pilot chutes of the first two Griffin tanks out the open back, staggering their launch.

Benning's tank was one of those two. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his armrests as he felt his tank accelerate out of the ramp. The tank tilted crazily, then the sickening sensation of a sheer plummet was cut short by a sudden jerk. The tank swung nearly sideways as the main chute first caught the air to stop its forward momentum before righting itself into a leisurely journey to the ground below.

A couple minutes later Benning was watching his altimeter go down to zero...THUNK! Benning grunted as the pallet hit the ground, the chutes were released, and the explosive bolts released the tank's restraints at the same time. He went on the radio.

"All Banter callsigns, this is Banter Six, we've landed. Designate my position as RV Alpha and get over here ASAP."

Benning opened his hatch and stuck his head out of the commander's cupola. They'd landed in the clearing designated as their LZ, thankfully. He'd heard enough horror stories about airborne units not landing on target. He looked over his tank then swore in annoyance when he saw one of the restraints hadn't released properly.

"Tyson get out there and pull the manual release," he ordered his driver. It worked perfectly, thankfully.

All 22 Griffins of Bravo Company rendezvoued without issue. A few had needed to pull their manual releases on the restraints, but that was no big issue. The tankers spent a few minutes gathering, folding, and stowing the parachutes on the exteriors of their tanks. Parachutes were some of the most useful items out there, and not just for jumping out of airplanes.

Benning went back into his tank and studied a map on his display, then nodded to himself. Less than a minute later, the tanks were zipping and skimming over the grounds towards Port Moresby.