Soldier of Fortune Magazine The Journal of Professional Adventurers
by Jerry Kraus
South African parachute veterans, a black Super Huey, and one hell of a water jump over Florida.
Last fall, I attended a small reunion of Soldier of Fortune friends at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico. After a long day of shooting, I found myself having a drink and a cigar with a couple of South African 1 Parachute Battalion veterans, Jaco Kirsten and Johan De Wet, talking about shooting and reminiscing about the last time each of us had done a military parachute jump.
The conversation eventually turned to how, back in the 1980s, Soldier of Fortune would organize parachute jumps with foreign militaries, giving participants the chance to earn foreign jump wings. It sounded incredibly cool to me, but back then I was a hardworking enlisted guy who could never afford to go.
Then 1 Parachute Battalion veteran Johan De Wet, a combat veteran of Fireforce operations in Namibia, Angola and Rhodesia, invited me to do a parachute water jump with him, Tony Deering, and their fellow Parabat veterans into Lake Weir, Florida, in March of 2026. I was so excited that I accepted on the spot without even consulting my wife first. Needless to say, she wasn’t exactly thrilled when she found out.
South African Parabat Veteran Johan De Wet, left, extended the invitation to author Jerry Kraus, right.
So in March of this year, I had the distinct honor of doing a military parachute water jump with South African 1 Parachute Battalion veterans. It was beyond cool. It was called Operation Ystervaark. Here’s how it unfolded.
First came the refresher training, practicing PLF’s and being graded by legendary Jumpmaster Granger Korff.
The group goes through refresher training
Then it was time for action.
The Water Jump: Time to Get “Knees to the Breeze!”
We jumped from a glossy jet-black Super Huey, a UH-1Y “Venom,” an absolutely gorgeous helicopter that looked like it was doing 100 mph even when it was sitting on the ground. We jumped from approximately 1,200 feet, in six chalks of six jumpers, with three jumpers in a stick on each side of the Huey.
We sat in the open doorway with our feet hanging out, secured by nothing except our static lines. It was an awesome feeling, and it brought back a lot of great memories.
James Buckley, Stratos Terzis, Tony Deering and the Super Huey.
I was in chalk five. My stick was on the port side of the helo, and in my stick were my very good friend Johan De Wet on my left and his son CJ on his left. The pilot took off, flew over Lake Weir, circled back around for each chalk so they could enjoy the view (just in case it was our last?), and on the second pass we all jumped at roughly 1,200 feet.
The helicopter ride was loud, as all helo rides are, but somehow calming at the same time. It reminded me of yesteryear. The temperature was in the low 70s and the views of the lake were beautiful. If I was going to die on a parachute jump, this was a beautiful day for it. Live boldly in the moment and don’t take life for granted.
All of a sudden the “Zen” of the helo ride was over when Jumpmaster “Tater” started yelling jump commands in his military voice, in sync with hand signals. Even though I couldn’t hear his every word over the deafening sound of the rotors and that badass “Super Huey” engine, we all looked at each other, nodded that we were “aware and good to go,” sounded off, and smiled.
CJ De Wet jumped first. Then Johan De Wet smiled and went out the door. Then Jumpmaster “Tater” slapped my helmet, my signal, and I jumped without hesitation. My heart was pounding with excitement!
Once I exited the helo, I counted to four, looked up and checked my canopy. I had a small twist in my risers, so I did the bicycle maneuver, and the canopy opened with a loud, reassuring snap, one of the best sounds a paratrooper can hear.
I grabbed the steering toggles, checked and turned slightly left and right, and the chute responded perfectly. This was my first time on a steerable canopy, and I have to say, it felt like cheating. I got my bearings on the wind, steered into it to slow my descent, and then had a few calm, peaceful moments to simply look around and take the beauty of it all in. I thought to myself, “I really miss this.”
When the Jumpmaster says “GO,” you go!
Then the surface of the water was coming up fast. Time to focus. I double-checked that I was facing into the wind, kept my eyes on the horizon, and just before impact I pulled down on both toggles to brake, which turned out to be a mistake. I should have pulled down on the rear risers instead. It was my first water jump and my first time on this particular chute, and that error may have made my water landing harder than it needed to be. But I was down.
Water Recovery: Alligators and Angels
When I surfaced, my first priority was checking the canopy behind me. Thankfully it wasn’t still inflated. If it had been, it would have been dragging me across the water. Dodged that bullet. Then I realized I was tangled in my suspension lines, which is one of the worst things that can happen to a paratrooper in the water.
My next objective was getting myself untangled. Then I remembered I was wearing a life vest, so I lay back, floated on the surface, and tried not to think about the alligators in the lake until the boat reached me. Thank God Tony and Graham made us all wear life vests!
Graham, the Director of the X35 Airborne School & National Parachute Test Center, had pre-positioned boats in the lake, each assigned a specific jumper by sequence number. There were six paratroopers per chalk and seven boats in the water: one for each jumper, plus a seventh for emergencies.
I was retrieved by a crew that clearly had military experience, in a sleek black tactical raft. After they patiently untangled me from my suspension lines and got my chute aboard, a couple in a big, comfortable pontoon boat pulled alongside and lowered a ladder so I didn’t have to haul myself up onto the raft. The boats reached every one of us before the alligators did. I call that a successful jump. Any parachute jump you can walk away from is a good jump!
Eaton’s Beach Sand Bar & Grill: The Perfect Landing Zone
Once the boats had us and our chutes aboard, they dropped us at the docks in front of Eaton’s Beach Sand Bar & Grill on Lake Weir.
Eaton’s Beach Sand Bar & Grill was straight out of a Jimmy Buffett song, with stiff drinks served fast, beautiful scenery, women in bikinis, and a festive atmosphere that was, in short, perfectly suited for Paratroopers. God Bless America and Eaton’s Beach Sand Bar & Grill!
Then something remarkable happened. A mystery woman gave her credit card number to the bartenders and told them to cover the bar tabs of all the Paratroopers. The bartenders wouldn’t reveal her name, so wherever you are, thank you very much from all of us! Each chalk would relax at Eaton’s while the helicopter went back for the next group and the boats shuttled back and forth retrieving jumpers from the lake. While enjoying a well-earned double-TNT, I had a great conversation with Johan De Wet and Granger Korff.
The Equipment: SF-10A
We all jumped the SF-10A parachute, a steerable round-canopy system with steering toggles. The SF-10A shares its canopy with the FS-14 smokejumper parachute and is most directly related to the MC-6, which evolved from the SF-10A but uses a different harness and container system. The thing to remember on the SF-10A is that even though it has steering toggles, you are supposed to pull down on the rear risers before impact, not pull down on the toggles.
Gruff’s: The Paratroopers’ Watering Hole
After each long day of PLF refresher training and SF-10 ground instruction, we would all make our way to the local paratrooper watering hole: Gruff’s Tap And Grill. Think of the bar in Top Gun where all the aviators hang out after a long day. Gruff’s has that same energy, with Airborne memorabilia covering the walls and a Scottish flag that every paratrooper who passes through the X35 Airborne School & National Parachute Test Center gets to sign.
Here’s who I jumped with.
Most of the participants of Operation Ystervark (Porcupine) L to R, Front row: Johan de Wet, Granger Korff, James Buckley, CJ de Wet, Tater, Ronel Holtzhausen, Liam Delaney. Second row: Neil Holtzhausen, Grant Trusler. Third row: Stratos Terzis, Dylan Delaney, John Delaney, Pedro Sakelliou, Andrè Swart, Trevor Howard, Derek Greef, Guy Greef, Wesley Wallace, Peter Kurpeawski. Back row: Adam Deering, Byron Williams, Roy Williams, Trevor Williams, Elandré Homann, Richard Klue, Edward Jeffery, Sam Klue, Owen Croft, Hans Trollip, Brian Wallace, Jumpmaster Jose Carlos, On the deck: Steve Sirois
Tony Deering: The Man Behind “Operation Ystervark”
The Operation Ystervaark organizer and sponsor was Tony Deering, a former officer with 1 Parachute Battalion and combat veteran from South Africa’s counterinsurgency operations in the 1990s.
At 6’4″ tall Deering is a no-nonsense individual that looks like he could outrun and out-train most people half his age. I have no doubt this guy could go operational tomorrow if needed. Since leaving the military Tony has dedicated his life to protecting others and is recognized as a global authority in the field of Blast and Ballistic protection. He moved to the United States in August 2006 when the biggest killer of US and Coalition forces during the GWOT were IED’s. He played an integral role in the development of MRAP technologies and in the production of many thousands of Mine Resistant vehicles that went into theater.
Tony Deering served with 1 Parachute Battalion. He is a veteran from South Africa’s counterinsurgency operations in the 1990s.
I asked him why he sponsors events like this for his fellow Parabats. He answered, “Our elite band of brothers share a common bond that is now archived in South African military history. It’s all about giving back to the Airborne Brotherhood that made me the man I am today.”
The South African paratroopers were extremely squared away, a sharp, physically fit, hard-training, and hard-drinking group of warriors, many of whom had fought communists across Southern Africa in what was known as “the Bush Wars.”
David DeSoucy: Green Beret and “Red Dawn”
I wasn’t the only American paratrooper jumping with the South African Parabats. David DeSoucy was also on the jump, a Green Beret who later played one of the enemy paratroopers in the original Red Dawn.
Green Beret David DeSoucy pointing out how little gear we have to jump with today
Paratrooper trivia: the paratroopers used in the jump scene for that film were actually recruited through Soldier of Fortune magazine.
Granger Korff: “19 with a Bullet”
One of the Parabat veterans I jumped with was Granger Korff, a combat veteran of the Angolan Bush War, a former boxer who looks like he could get back in the ring anytime, and author of the book 19 with a Bullet, which I highly recommend. Korff and I hit it off immediately, and I had no idea yet that he would be the man pinning on my second set of Airborne Blood Wings.
Johan & CJ De Wet, Two Generations Jumping Together!
Johan De Wet is a 1 Parachute Battalion veteran, a combat veteran of Fireforce operations in Namibia, Angola and Rhodesia, and a damn good friend of mine, one I would trust my life with in a heartbeat. He jumped with his son CJ, who is an impressive young man in his own right. Companies spend so much money on “team building exercises.” There is no better team-building exercise than sitting with your knees hanging out the door of a Huey, next to your son, and jumping together. That is a father and son experience that builds trust and respect for a lifetime!
John Delaney: Two Generations Jumping with Two Sons
Another Parabat combat veteran I had the honor of jumping with was John Delaney. Delaney and I also hit it off right away. He was candid and compelling in describing his combat experiences in Namibia and Angola. He later wrote a book about those experiences, titled Staying Alive, which I highly recommend. After his time in combat, Delaney became a Reverend and has dedicated himself to helping others, especially veterans struggling with PTSD. He made the jump alongside his two sons, Liam and Dylan, both of whom are great guys.
Roy Williams: Three Generations in the Door!
People often ask why we still jump out of perfectly good airplanes and helicopters. Beyond the sheer excitement of it, the camaraderie is something that is hard to explain unless you’ve experienced it firsthand. A remarkable example: 1 Parachute Battalion veteran Roy Williams was 83 years old on jump day, and he jumped alongside his son Trevor, age 54, and his grandson Byron, age 21. Three generations leaping out of a helicopter together. Add John Delaney jumping with his two sons, and you had something truly moving to witness. You can’t ask for more camaraderie than that.
Back to Gruff’s: Wings and Whiskey
Once everyone was ready to move on, thanks to Tony’s and Graham’s excellent planning, a comfortable air-conditioned tour bus was waiting outside to take all of us back to Gruff’s Restaurant & Bar in Dunnellon, so nobody was drinking and driving. Outstanding logistics, gentlemen. Back at Gruff’s, those of us who had not previously jumped with the X35 Airborne School & National Parachute Test Center received our X35 Jump Wings, and most of us received Blood Wings. Mine were punched into my chest by the legendary Granger Korff, the author of 19 with a Bullet, an honor I won’t soon forget.
Jumpmaster “Reaper:” The Greek in the Stick
One of our jumpmasters, Stratos “Reaper” Terzis, was not South African either. He was Greek. He was an outstanding jumpmaster, as were all of the X35 JMs, and he managed to squeeze in a jump with us as well. He also brought the best Ouzo I’ve ever had to the pre-jump Braai (BBQ). A great guy and a great conversationalist!
The Debrief in Tampa
On my way back to Tampa airport I met up with Soldier of Fortune Magazine Owner & Publisher Susan Katz Keating at a secret hangout the SOF guys rendezvous at when they are passing through town. We had a quick debrief over Bloody Marys, and she asked me the same question my wife did:
“You’re 60 years old, is this your last jump?”
Author Jerry Kraus tells SOF Publisher Susan Katz Keating about the jump, at the secret hangout in Tampa. (photo by Susan Katz Keating)
That is a question I’m still pondering. It reminds me of when someone would ask my father how old he was, and he would invariably reply with a smile on his face: “I’m old enough to know better, but still too young to resist!”
Jerry Kraus lives outside Steamboat Springs, Colorado, with his wife of 31 years and their German Shorthaired Pointer. He is a former U.S. Army Paratrooper and has been a contributing Writer & Field Editor for Soldier of Fortune magazine for decades. Currently he is the Director of Special Projects for Soldier of Fortune magazine, and a member of the NRA Board of Directors. He is the owner & CEO of Apex Integrity Mortgage, LLC.
