Army's Golden Knights parachute team to perform in Cape Girardeau

It's often said sports are games of inches.

Demonstrations Friday, Sept. 8, and Saturday, Sept. 9, in advance of the home-opening football game of the Southeast Missouri State University Redhawks will truly be inch-specific, as the Black Team of the U.S. Army's Golden Knights parachute unit will be showcasing its skills at Houck Field by landing on its targets -- each about the size of a dinner plate.

Ten members of the team -- six skydivers, a pilot, a co-pilot, crew chief and one ground technician -- will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday and just before 5:45 p.m. Saturday, ahead of a 6 p.m. kickoff.

Spec. Brandon Hexum, a native of Peoria, Illinois, in his first year on the team, said being a member is a dream come true.

"It's very fulfilling. I have to pinch myself at times because I can't believe what I'm doing. I can't think of a better job in the military," he said Thursday, Sept. 7.

Earning a spot in the elite unit of about 90 soldiers requires rigorous training and an initial three-year commitment. Hexum said the initial eight weeks of training at the group's home base of Fort Liberty, North Carolina, includes about 200 jumps, and yearly training in Florida includes another few hundred jumps.

"So, you have about 500 jumps before the show season even starts," he said.

The group's show season -- which includes performances at air shows, sporting events and other large-crowd gatherings around the country -- keeps the soldiers traveling about 240 days of each year.

Many Golden Knights make a career of the service, and the nature of the group's missions make for a strong bond.

"It's a very tight-knit group," Hexum said.

While the precision skydiving is flashy, the group serves a real-world military purpose.

"We also do joint training and help develop new techniques and equipment," Hexum explained. "We are always trying to make the Army stronger and fulfill missions."

Bruce Loy, former manager of Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, said he approached university officials to involve the Golden Knights as part of the university's sesquicentennial celebrations and the reopening of Houck Field. He said the university, airport and Visit Cape partnered to bring the team to Cape Girardeau. This weekend's demonstrations will mark the group's third visit to the stadium.

Loy said the demonstrations will give community members an opportunity to show patriotic pride in the nation's military and could encourage future service.

"We have a lot of pride in our military and the men and women out there protecting our country," he said. "I hope (spectators) take away what these guys do on a daily basis and they put their lives at risk all the time. I hope they take away that this community is supportive of all our men and women in the military."