September 17, 2015 – The elite United States Special Operations Command PARA-COMMANDOS will be flying in the skies over Washington before making a pinpoint landing inside RFK Stadium with the game ball for Saturday’s match against Columbus Crew SC.
These American heroes will perform a precision parachute demonstration, racing towards earth at 120 mph and opening the iconic black & gold canopies of the SOCOM Para-Commandos in front of thousands of soccer fans.
“We are thrilled and honored to be part of this wonderful match,” said team leader Keith Walter. “It’s our first Major League Soccer appearance and there is no place better to start than with D.C. United!”
The team is comprised of U.S. Special Operations Command personnel headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL. Para-Commandos are well trained special operators with combat experience made up of US Army Green Berets, US Army Rangers, the US Air Force’s Special Tactics, the US Navy SEALs, or the US Marine Corps Raiders.
Special Operations Command was established in 1987 to bring Special Operations from all the services under one command headquarters. Special operators are highly skilled and trained in a variety of military missions ranging from direct combat to humanitarian assistance.
The command has approximately 67,000 Active Duty, Reserve and National Guard Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and DoD civilians assigned to the headquarters, its four components, one sub-unified command and seven geographic commands. On any given day, more than 12,000 Special Operations Forces are deployed to over 70 countries worldwide.
