Is it a bird? Is it Superman? Is it a plane? Forget flying coach — we’ve just found the most challenging seat on a plane you could possibly take.
A TikTok user in South Wales looked out her window from her estate and saw a military helicopter with three soldiers in training, each hanging from a rope — talk about a hot seat. For most of us, seeing people dangling on a rope from a Chinook helicopter is almost unthinkable. It’s the kind of stunt we talk about for years when Tom Cruise pulls it off in a Mission: Impossible movie, but for soldiers, it’s just another Tuesday.
The BBC reported that the maneuver in the TikTok video is called Troop Insertion and Extraction, technically known as TIE. For the curious, the technique is called fast-roping, used both in insertion and extraction for rapid deployment. This is not only a common SAS training exercise but for most country’s armies, and those who remember Zero Dark Thirty will recognize it as the exact technique SEAL Team Six used in their mission to end the manhunt for Osama bin Laden. The importance of this maneuver cannot be understated.
In the comments on the video, people were busy joking, “What airline is that?” Knowing Ryanair’s humor on X, it’s only a matter of time before they catch wind of this and jokingly offer a new class. Whoever runs their account is truly the Oscar Wilde of the information age, bringing personality to brands online.
This has to be one of the most intense examples of extreme team building. I imagine if something went wrong, the soldiers must have a plan for what to do if the rope snaps or if someone falls. Just imagine a military officer dropping from the sky into your backyard barbecue. Personally, I’d salute.
Videos like these remind civilians just how much soldiers put their bodies on the line for a greater purpose: our safety. Service members need extraordinary problem-solving skills, fully aware of the immense consequences if something goes wrong. In times like these, with so much turmoil in the Middle East, it’s easy to direct our frustrations at the troops. Warzone footage demands a lot from us — often more than we can stomach. But remembering that orders ultimately come from politicians, while soldiers only do all they can to protect national interests, might bring a bit more understanding.
With the U.S. elections approaching, make sure you vote for your preferred candidate. Your vote is, after all, your loudest voice. And that’s the best way you can get the difference you’re trying to make.
Most of us can hardly stand meetings in conference rooms, or even those scheduled over Zoom. But knowing that some people start their week holding onto a rope, 500 feet up in the sky, with nothing but faith and their squad mates, should allow us to breathe a small sigh of relief that our own work is, perhaps, a bit easier. And most importantly our lives are a bit safer.
