Army Special Ops Slated to Lose Thousands of Paid Airborne Positions

Move amounts to $1,800 pay cut for those affected

A U.S. Army paratrooper from B Co., 112th Signal Bn., 528th Sustainment Brigade conducts airborne operations during a validation exercise near Camp Lejeune, N.C., March 1, 2016. An Army proposal would cut the 528th’s paid airborne slots by 92%. (U.S. Army)

The Army is considering a proposal to slash the number of special operators receiving jump pay by more than 40% as part of an overhaul of the service’s paratroop training.

The initiative would also require the Pentagon to update its war plans to reflect the fact that some units were no longer resourced or trained for airborne operations.

The proposal grew out of the Army Airborne Requirements and Structure Analysis, which Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George initiated in September with the aim of making the service’s airborne training more efficient. The Army convened a committee run by XVIII Airborne Corps to conduct the analysis and draft a way forward.