Jump to the Skyscrapers

One of the outstanding events of the conference was the dynamic display, where the special operations forces of the nations delegating staff officers to the USSOCOM Headquarters, demonstrated interoperability among the nations in respect of the different standard combat methods, communication, armament and the technical equipment, conducting all these on land, sea and air.

The basic scenario of the demonstrated situation was a hostage rescue operation, in which the role of the hostage was played by the Mayor of Tampa. The team of Colonel Sánta – with the free-falling parachute team, as part of the subunit supporting the action – executed the jump from an altitude of 2000 meters, and hit the water in a bay situated in the downtown of Tampa, and then they carried out the actions supporting the task-execution of the teams landing on earth or on water.

The implementation of the jump was made more difficult by the somewhat inclement weather and the complicated terrain, as the place of arrival on water is surrounded by skyscrapers, and several bridges spanning the bay.

The members of the parachute team – besides the Hungarians – came from the personnel of the special forces of Columbia, Singapore, Italy, Romania and the United States. Thanks to the exhaustive preparation and the existing capabilities both the jump and the entire display were a success, which were highly celebrated by the Mayor of Tampa, the audience of tens of thousands and the commanders of the special operations forces and the Command Sergeant Majors (CSMs) from more than 70 countries of the world.

The parachuting qualifications of Colonel Gábor Sánta were acquired at the predecessor units of the HDF 2nd Vitéz Bertalan Árpád Special Purpose Brigade, i.e. at the HDF 34th Bercsényi László Reconnaissance Battalion, and at the 34th Special Operations Battalion. As an acknowledgement of his qualifications, the Chief of General Defence Staff presented the Parachutist Badge with Golden Wreath in 2012 to Colonel Sánta.