Paratrooper with fear of jumping finds help through Airborne Anonymous
FORT BRAGG, N.C. – The night jumps that turned into nightmares. The “sticks” that felt like a stick up his hidey-hole. Cpl. Bryan Copewell, an Army paratrooper, experienced them all.
He has catapedaphobia, the fear of jumping. But now he’s found a solution through a non-profit organization called Airborne Anonymous.
Copewell admits that he’s terrified of jumping from anything, despite being airborne-qualified with over 15 jumps to his credit. But, he admits, “most of those jumps were me going out a window to avoid motor pool Monday.”
The Ft. Bragg AA Chapter, nicknamed “Leg or Bust,” is headed by Chairman Rodney Little, himself a battle-hardened veteran of one terrifying aborted jump at Fort Benning.
“We understand the fear of jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, and our 12 Steps-on-the-Ground program helps transition soldiers into the Air Force," Little said.
“I can’t jump from an airplane, or from my bunk at reveille, or even go down stairs two at a time," said Copewell. After being …
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