ZigZagMarquis 9 #1 July 17, 2007 25 heavily armed parachutists land at Colorado prison They ID themselves as "Defense Department" employees after guards hold fire Military: They were Special Operations Command forces on routine training Prison official: "I'm not sure we'll ever know who they were" CANON CITY, Colorado (AP) -- No, they weren't coming to the rescue. Military officials said 25 heavily armed parachutists who landed in a cornfield on the grounds of a Colorado prison last week were on a training mission but landed about 3 miles off target. "Those were Special Operations Command forces conducting routine training," Army Col. Hans Bush, a spokesman for the command at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, said Monday. He declined to identify the units that landed at Fremont Correctional Facility but said the target was Fremont County Airport. The special operations troops, which could include Navy Seals or Green Berets, began dropping from the sky at about 4:50 a.m. Thursday. Guards on duty, who are trained to watch the skies following a helicopter escape in 1989 from a prison near Ordway, Colorado, held their fire after noticing the parachutists were soldiers. Guards who stopped the men and asked for identification were presented with documents that identified them only as Defense Department employees, Colorado Department of Corrections spokeswoman Katherine Sanguinetti. "We don't know who they were and I'm not sure we'll ever know who they were," she said. "Everyone acted appropriately." The parachute troops were armed only with rubber training bullets. "The good news is everyone was able to quickly assess the situation," Bush said. The Fremont Correctional Facility is a mixed custody facility that houses inmates classified from minimum to administrative segregation. It houses 1,471 inmates and employs about 450 people. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davedlg 0 #2 July 17, 2007 Actually it's kind of funny that happened. There are a few dropzones in Canon City, and we have always wondered what would happen if we were to "accidentally" land in one of the prisions. I'll bet they would take it a lot more seriouslly if it were a bunch regular skydivers as opposed to DOD employees. The most secure prison in the country, Supermax, is within 3 miles of the dropzone. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #3 July 17, 2007 There are several threads on this topic already.Please post in the one that is not locked."It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
