Buon Giorno from Italy again!

Ok, I’ve just read some of your comments this morning and so allow me to reply back to some of them.

Someone wrote:

“The parachute case is pretty neat. I am assuming (always a bad sign) that the whole thing opens when you pull the 'rip cord'. So it would be better to have it sitting upright when it is opened?

My reply:

No, not necessarily. There are four flaps with a 5th one on the inside. If you sew the left, right and bottom flap together along the sides, like the way I did mine. You can pull the ripcord handle and have these flaps open up without worrying about the stuff inside falling on the ground.

I also did a little experiment with another para-reserve container by sewing in some Velcro to keep these three sides together. And so I like to use this one for my sleeping gear and I keep inside of it my military poncho liner that I converted into a lightweight sleeping bag, by sewing in a zipper along the sides of it. And I also keep in it a “blow up” pillow, lightweight cheap air mattress and a heavy duty space blanket too, along with a few survival items.

Oh yea, I have another one that I call my “Ranger Rick Emergency Wine Para-Reserve Container." And inside of this one I keep four (4) wine glasses attached to the loops where the parachute lines use to be attached, so when I open it they won’t fall on the ground and break. And also (of course) a bottle of wine with one end of some 550 para-cord tied near the wine bottle’s cork and the other end tied to one of the inside loops.

And so whenever I go to some party, event or to a buddy’s house, I like to wear it around my waist and “pop the ripcord” and out falls the bottle of wine without touching the ground and breaking. I get a lot of laughs out it, especially from Italian strangers or people who don’t know me. (Did you see what that weirdo American has, honey?)

A buddy of mine keeps a bottle of Italian Grappa (hard booze), a set of shot glasses and a bag of peanuts inside his para-reserve. Yea, these make some nice conversation pieces.

Someone wrote:

Seems to me that packing the reserve 'chute case would be a pain in the fanny. And with my luck I would be wandering though the boonies (or crowded store) and hook the ripcord on something, thereby dumping all of my goodies on the ground/floor. But it would be an eye opener and conversation piece...

My reply:

Yea, like I said, they make great conversation pieces. I get a lot of strange stares and weird looks when I use mine as a carrying bag. Sometimes people come up to me and ask “So ,where did you land?”

No, believe it or not, it's really pretty hard to pull out the ripcord handle. I really never knew how hard they were to pull out until I was on a parachute detail as a private in the Army back in 1973. Me and my buddies had to pop open over 300 x parachute reserves so the chutes inside could be inspected and then repacked by the parachute riggers.

We were all making comments and complaining about how hard these damn ripcords are to pull out and hoped to God we never had to pop one while parachuting because we don’t think we could do it. And the sergeant in charge of us said, “Don’t worry, when you start seeing your entire life flashing in front of you as the ground is coming up closer and closer you’ll find the strength, believe me you will.”

So getting back to your comment…no, don’t worry about catching the ripcord handle on anything and accidentally popping it open.



Someone wrote:

I think its a great start too. I personally would second the gerber milk bags. Hell, I'm picking up some more this week...I can send you a few if you like. My brother was stationed at Vincenza a few years back, with the 173rd. Do you have an APO, or an Italian addy?

My reply:

Hey thanks, appreciate the offer, I just need a couple of them stuffed inside an envelope, not a bunch, and you can mail it to:

Ranger Rick Tscherne
US Army Retiree Section
Unit 31401 Box 8075
APO, AE 09630

Thanks again for the offer. Yea, tell your brother the 173rd Abn Bde is still located in Vicenza, I live about 50 miles away from there and go there to do my shopping and pick up my mail about twice a month. The “Herd” will soon be deploying downrange again soon, 3rd time in five years. They are expanding the unit, they just got permission from the Italian Gov’t they can use a second base on the other side of Vicenza where there’s an old military airfield that’s not used anymore.

Anyway, nice chatting with you guys, thanks for your comments and allowing me to reply back.

Hey Chris, thanks for that email you sent me. you’re right, I won’t forget that one, that’s why I’m gonna keep it & use it.

And Doug, the samples are packed and they’ll be shipped off to you on Feb 26th when I go down to the base, let me know when you receive them.

Talk to you guys later,

Army Ranger Rick