title: The Advanced Tactical Parachute System (T-11): injuries during basic military parachute training.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Since the 1950s, the standard U.S. military troop parachute system has been the T-10. TheT-10 is currently being replaced by the newer T-11 system.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This investigation compared injury incidence between the T-10 and T-11 military parachute systems.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were students in basic parachute training at the U.S. Army Airborne School (USAAS). Students performed their first parachute jumps with the T-11 and subsequent jumps with the T-10. Injury data were collected from routine reports produced by the USAAS. Combat loaded jumps and night jumps were excluded from the analysis since these were only conducted with the T-10.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were a total of 76 injuries in 30,755 jumps for an overall cumulative injury incidence of 2.5/1000 jumps. With the T-10 parachute, there were 61 injuries in 21,404 jumps for a cumulative injury incidence of 2.9/1000 jumps; with the T-11 parachute there were 15 injuries in 9351 jumps for a cumulative injury incidence of 1.6/1000 jumps [risk ratio (T10/T11) = 1.78, 95% confidence interval = 1.01-3.12, P = 0.04].
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Limitations to this analysis included the fact that the T-11 was only used on the first jumps among students who had likely never previously performed a parachute jump and that aircraft exit procedures differed very slightly for the two parachutes. Nonetheless, the data suggest that injury incidence is lower with the T-11 parachute than with the T-10 parachute when airborne training operations are conducted during the day without combat loads.
authors.affiliation: U.S. Army Public Health Institute, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010, USA. joseph.knapik@us.army.mil
authors.forename: Joseph J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Knapik
authors.forename: Bria
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Steelman
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Colliver
authors.forename: Bruce H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D001359:Aviation / Q000193:education*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008889:Military Personnel; D014481:United States; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology