WHERE ARE THEY NOW/ Part 3

CARLOS GOMEZ

In this photograph the two PJI's responible for training these men are shown seated in the middle of the group. This was Free 
Fall Course number 26 and by this stage they were required to carry out 65 Free Fall parachute descents with twenty of these being done at night. Both these PJI's Sgt Dick Gledhill on the Left and Sgt Carlos Gomez on the right can be identified by their moustaches and their PJI brevets sewn onto their shirts. Both these PJI's had earned their brevets as static line instructors and had then advanced to the Free Fall role in which they both excelled..


Carlos Gomez applied to become a PJI after he joined the Rhodesian Air Force. He was originally from Mozambique but was educated in Rhodesia. He joined the Rhodesian Air Force to do his bit in the fight against terrorism and found his niche in the Parachute Training School where he was among the youngest of the U/T PJIs. Carlos was a thoughtful and mature young man who soon developed his own unique method of instruction. He was an excellent communicator and was able to influence other instructors to adopt his method with difficult students. I was still the PTS Boss when we did the 50,000th training jump and, as usual, at the time, this honour was given to the newest instructor. This happened to be young Carlos Gomez. He jumped with David Barbear, our Mascot, from 2500ft AGL with an X type parachute which had the double blank modification and the number 50,000 in black sewn onto the canopy. I asked the Dakota Captain to please land after he had dropped the Free Fall PJIs from 10,000 ft so I could present Flt/Lt Al Bruce with a bottle of champagne as a thank you from the PTS to # 3 Squadron RhAF. I lost touch with most of the PTS staff when I was posted to HQ, and then later we spread far and wide, but through the grape-vine I have heard Carlos eventually found employment with an international soft drink company and is now the General Manager in Nigeria where he has also been made an Honoury Chief of a local Tribe. If he reads this blog I hope he makes contact again.



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The above photograph shows Sqn/Ldr  Derek de Kock presenting Flt/Lt Al Bruce with a bottle of Champagne to commemorate the 50,000th parachutist dropped in training by #3 Squadron Rhodesian Air Force. The actual 50 000th jump was carried out by Sgt Carlos Gomez the youngest PJI in the Parachute Training School at the time


MIKE WILTSHIRE

Air/Lt Mike Wiltshire practicing his sword drill before a parade. The parachute School was called upon to carry out
numerous duties which included getting dressed up in all our best uniforms and carrying swords. The one thing that seperated the PJI's from the rest of the Air Force was our head dress. PJI's wore the Beret and the rest of the Air Force wore Caps.

This photograph shows a wings parade for an SAS course which had just completed the parachute jumping course and it also provided the opportunity for the U/T PJI's to receive their PJI Brevet. Three of the new PJI's are seen in the rear rank and are from R to L Sgt Mike Wiltshire, Sgt Iain Bowen and Sgt Dennis (Charlie) Buchan. The fourth new PJI Sgt Ralph (The Rat)Moore is hidden behind Mike Wiltshire.

This photograph shows Mike trying to look fierce while teaching or being taught unarmed combat. It just shows the versatility of the Parachute Training School. The only trained soldiers in the Rhodesian Air Force were in the Parachute Training School and this resulted in the staff of the PTS being called upon to carry out most of the Brown Job (Rhodesian Army nick name) tasks that occurred from time to time.

This photograph shows Mike Wiltshire hitching a ride in a Chopper possibly to retrieve a parachute from the top of a gumtree where he had dropped a soldier doing a night jump. Mike was one of those men who could charm his way-out of any jamb. On this occasion he was giving instruction's to the dropping aircraft from the DZ  and tried to drop the stick of paratroops as close to the retrieval trucks as possible but forgot about the very tall gumtrees nearby. One soldier got hung up more than 60mts above the ground and the Fire Brigade was called in to get the soldier down. The next morning Mike spoke very nicely to #7 Sqn and borrowed a chopper and pilot to retrieve the parachute. He was a charmer.

A wet Mike Wiltshire being rescued after a parachute jump into Lake McIlwaine. These water jumps were laid on from time to time for the Rhodesian Air Force Air Crew and it also gave those injured PJI.s and various VIP's a chance to enjoy a frightening experience. 

Mike Wiltshire  Joined the Parachute Training School straight from civilian life, but I seem to recall he was an Air Cadet in the Royal Air Force where he’d learned how to march and who to salute. He was a Londoner and had worked on the London buses, at first as a conductor and later as a driver. He was a witty raconteur and some of the tales he told kept the staff of the PTS in fits for days at a time. He was also very handy to have around when a Dakota got a bit shot up. Once, for example, the battery compartment was smashed in a dust-up. The Dak engineer and Mike borrowed a couple of Land Rovers and, by joining the two batteries in series, managed to start the Dakota so it could be flown home for repairs. Mike was also responsible for creating our own flying canons. He got 4 MAGs (.762 mm machine guns), made a framework for the guns from angle iron and other bits of steel, and mounted it in the door of the Dakota. This took place in the Mtoko area - the SAS were operating over the border and required resupply on a weekly basis. Every time this resupply took place the Dakota doing the drop was fired at by some heavy machineguns. This seriously pissed Mike off and he determined to shoot back. Hence his version of Puff the Magic Dakota Dragon. Apparently they fired this contraption one night. The results were not as expected – with all the fire-power the Dakota became a more visible target and the ground fire became much more accurate. This did not please the two pilots up front especially when lots of green lights started to flash past their windows. The other problem was the doppies (empty cartridge cases) which soon became a menace in the back of the Dakota. Mike had the greatest sense of humor amongst a staff who would always find the funny side of any situation. He was also a great prankster. Just one example, when he was picking up members of PTS staff from their homes in the very early hours of the morning, he decided to wake up everybody in the neighborhood by pretending to be the police. He used one of our loud hailers, shouted to Iain Bowen to come out with his hands up, then bundled him into the back of the van and roared off down the street. Vera Iain's wife was not happy. It caused a lot of consternation in the neighborhood. Mike was a natural leader who was able to gain the respect of the men under his command. He seemed to find the easy way of doing things and appeared confidant and cheerful even under the most trying conditions. He was awarded the Military Forces Commendation Operational for the part he played on numerous Fire Force Operations where his calm and cheerful attitude inspired his troops. Mike Wiltshire was one of my officers and I was able to trust him implicitly to get the job done. I was honored to know him RIP

A few more PJI stories are still to be told and I hope to include a tale or two from the pilots who dropped us and I would like to include a soldier's story or two.