Army Airborne School: The 3 Weeks, Requirements, and What to Expect

Army Airborne School is where you earn your jump wings. Open to soldiers and members of other branches, it teaches basic static-line parachuting in three intense weeks. Here is how it breaks down and what it takes to get through.

What is Airborne School?

The course runs three weeks and teaches you to exit an aircraft, control your descent, and land safely under a parachute. It is divided into three phases named for their focus: Ground Week, Tower Week, and Jump Week. You must pass the physical training requirements and qualify on the training apparatuses to move from one week to the next.

Ground Week

You build the individual skills to jump and land, training on the mock door, the 34-foot tower, and the lateral drift apparatus. To advance, you have to qualify on those and pass all PT requirements.

Tower Week

Those skills get refined and the mass-exit concept is added, using the swing landing trainer, the suspended harness, and the 250-foot free tower. You must master mass-exit procedures and pass PT again to move on.

Jump Week

The payoff. You make five jumps, at least one of them at night, to graduate and earn your wings.

Requirements and how to train

Airborne School is not the most physically brutal school in the Army, but PT failures and weak conditioning still wash people out, and the repeated hard landings punish an unprepared body. Keep your Army fitness test score strong, build your running and core, and train lower-body strength and durability so parachute landing falls do not wreck you. Grip and upper-body strength help on the towers and harness work too.

Train for it with Battle Bunker

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You have to pass the Army fitness test to earn your wings. The Battle Bands build the push-ups and pull-ups that get your score there, anywhere you train.

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Airborne School FAQ

How long is Airborne School?

Three weeks: Ground Week, Tower Week, and Jump Week.

How many jumps do you make?

Five jumps to graduate, including at least one night jump.

Do you have to be a paratrooper to attend?

No. Airborne School is open to qualified members across the branches, not just future paratroopers.

What is the hardest part?

For most students it is the repeated landings and the heights, plus staying on top of the PT requirements.

Standards are set by the U.S. Army and can change over time. Confirm current requirements through official Army sources.