Imagine standing in the door,the ground hundreds of feet below , then leaps out down at an eternity of cloudless airspace. Imagine, the Philippine paratrooper, they are those who don't have to imagine it. They did and do, only elites like them have done. They have braved the skies and still do. They have floated down silently from the heavens to take command of the ground. They are airborne, paratroopers, the proud elite, the winged infantryman.
The Philippine Army Airborne Regiment is basically a part of the Philippine Army special units mostly operating within the sructure of the Special Forces Regiment. These are the men who have what it takes to step-up to the door of an aircraft, looks down to the drop zone, jumps from an altitude of 1,000 feet and lands safely - ready to fight.
It takes a special breed of figthing men to volunteer for this elite unit. Someone with unflinching spirit of adventure and can put into practice in three minutes that have took 3 weeks to learn. The infantrymen's wife is his gun, the airborne trooper has two, his gun and his parachute. They are the Philippine Army's most valuable soldiers working in conjunction with other services such as the Philippine Air Force. Airborne forces are primarily moved by aircraft and operates with minimum support of armor. Their main task is to capture key objectives and hold it until releived by light or heavy infantry forces. Airborne units are also called in to strike deep into enemy territory basically in the rear. They are roughly trained and joining, though voluntary is not an easy decision. Candidates must have what it takes to wear a parachute badge and can still fight effectively. Its not for everybody. They are trained in the sprawling acre lands of Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija province under the watchful guidance of the special forces who are also encamped in the area. They undergo jump school where acceptance can still mean a place to fail. Graduates though will have the honor of being among the elites of the elites. For an airborne trooper, the sky soldier, they can boastly say "the sky is the limit".