‘Chutist bring attention to Miss.

Eighty-seven paratroopers from the 4th Brigade Team of the 25th Infantry Division based out of Alaska parachuted into high winds above the Camp Shelby (Miss.) Army Base in early October, which garnered national media attention, Maj. Gen. Janson Boyles, adjutant general for the Mississippi Army National Guard, told the Columbus Rotary Club on Nov. 19. The jumpers were trying to hit a drop zone about the size of a football field, Boyles said, when they encountered a gust of wind at about 700 feet that "pushed them into the trees unexpectedly." The temporary miscue, Boyles said, drew attention to a first-time training mission that’s a positive for the State of Mississippi. The 650 active duty 650 had earlier off-loaded equipment at the Port of Gulfport, spent three weeks training at Camp Shelby. Before completing training at Fort Polk, La. The purpose was readiness training for an overseas mission, but the impact for the state was monumental, he said. Boyles, a Mississippi State University gram, who Gov. Phil Bryant appointed adjutant general in 2016, lauded the National Guard as a significant economic impactor for the Magnolia State, and one that is playing an increasing role across the globe. (Source: Columbus Dispatch 11/20/19) https://cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=77450