Local Army sniper graduates from Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga.

Last Friday, my son and I rode with my friend Gilbert Harden to Fort Benning, Ga., where we watched Gilbert’s 22-year-old nephew Jamie Mason graduate from the U.S. Army’s Airborne School.

Many of you will know Jamie. His family’s from Conecuh County, and he was once a student at Sparta Academy. Sports fans in the audience will remember Jamie from his exploits on the football and baseball fields at Sparta.

Jamie, an infantryman, joined the Army after high school and has steadily risen through the ranks. He’s served multiple tours in Afghanistan, and during his last tour he served as a sniper in the 10th Mountain Division. The fact that Jamie’s a qualified Army sniper should tell you a lot about what type of soldier and marksman he is. As evidenced by the Combat Infantry Badge he wears, Jamie’s already seen more than his fair share of fighting, and the fact that he’s advancing in the Army comes as no surprise.

Jamie’s going places in the Army. He was recently selected for Special Forces training at Fort Bragg, N.C. and in order to attend that training, he first had to complete the U.S. Army Airborne Course at the Airborne School. There he learned how to jump out of airplanes, navigate using his parachute, land safely and move on.

A soldier has to complete five jumps, including one at night, in order to finish “Jump School,” and Jamie was the first soldier in line when his class got ready to make their first real jump. Jamie successfully completed all of his jumps and graduated Friday morning at 0900 hours at the south end of Eubanks Field on the Airborne Walk at Fort Benning.

The graduation ceremony is open to civilians, and family and friends are encouraged to pin on the graduate’s “Jump Wings,” that is, his Parachutist Badge. Jamie was honored to have retired Army sergeant major Lester Cogollo on hand to pin on his wings. Some of you out there may know Lester. A close friend of Gilbert’s, Lester currently serves as the postmaster at the Atmore Post Office. Before his career with the postal service, he served as an Army Special Forces soldier, serving in Airborne units and fighting in engagements around the world.

After Jamie’s graduation, we visited the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center, which is located just outside of Fort Benning. Fort Benning is the “Home of the Infantry,” and this 190,000-square-foot museum honors the history of the Army’s infantry forces. I’ve been to a lot of museums and this is one of the most impressive that I’ve ever visited. If you ever get the chance to go, don’t pass it up.

In the end, everyone here at The Evergreen Courant is wishing Jamie all the best and would like to give him a big “thank you” for his service. We owe a lot to soldiers like Jamie, who’ve sworn to defend our nation and to uphold the Constitution. Here’s hoping that we never see the day when we take soldiers like him and the freedoms that he protects for granted.