Community Education

It’s a small world: Gig Harbor alums meet at Airborne training in Georgia

Two Gig Harbor High School alumni earned their Army Airborne wings on June 23, 2023, at Fort Moore (formerly known as Fort Benning) in Columbus, Georgia.

Ethan Baker, a 2020 Gig Harbor grad and a rising senior in the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Gonzaga University, and Zach Standifer, a ’21 Gig Harbor grad and a rising junior at West Point, recognized each other on the first day of training from among the more than 300 other Airborne students. Baker and Standifer were teammates on the GHHS cross country team. Neither knew they pursued similar paths in college.

Airborne training is an intense three-week program for enlisted personnel, Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs), commissioned officers, university ROTC cadets and military academy cadets from all branches of the military. New groups start weekly, year-round, and the spots for cadets are limited.

The course culminates in five parachute jumps from either a C-17 or C-130 military aircraft in the skies above Fryar Field in Alabama, near Fort Moore. Of the more than 300 who started the training with Baker and Standifer, 290 successfully completed the course and became Airborne qualified.

Zach Standifer, left, and Ethan Baker at Airborne training in Georgia in spring 2023.