SIDNEY -- It was almost a carnival atmosphere as fans of all ages and backgrounds made their way to Sidney Municipal Airport Saturday morning, April 12, to witness military parachute exercises.

The training involved soldiers of the Nebraska Army National Guard Readiness Center in Sidney, said Sgt. 1st Class Phillip Mausbach. Sgt. Mausbach is the readiness noncommissioned officer at the Readiness Center in Sidney.

A Nebraska Army National Guard soldier chats with a young fan before jumping Saturday, April 12.
A Nebraska Army National Guard soldier chats with a young fan before jumping Saturday, April 12. Photo by Cassie Challburg

The training involved jumping from a Blackhawk helicopter, completely different than jumping from a C-130 jet, St. Mausbach said.

The event was delayed by more than an hour as morning winds were gusting higher than were acceptable for the exercise. 

Sgt. Mausbach said training began before spectators arrived Saturday morning. 

"As soon as the Blackhawks arrive today, we'll sit on them and kind of practice our exit off of that. A lot of it is just like 'hey, they'll teach you what they can and you figure it out the rest of the way," he said prior to Saturday's exercises.

He said the Saturday exercises were an exception for the Nebraska Army National Guard.

"Jumping out of a Blackhawk is kind of a big deal for the state because we don't get to do that very often. And there's not very many paratroopers that get this opportunity, so we're very, very lucky and appreciate it," he said.