Ten special operations veterans are preparing for a world record attempt to skydive across seven continents in seven days while raising funds for a nonprofit organization that awards educational scholarships to Gold Star families.
“We want to go as fast as possible so that it’s hard for anyone to break our record,” retired Army Ranger Jariko Denman told Fox News with a smile. “And the more radical it can be, the more visibility the Folds of Honor foundation has.”
Former Navy SEAL Fred Williams parachutes into Arizona. Williams is one of 10 special operations veterans who will attempt to break a world record, skydiving over seven continents in seven days.
(Photo courtesy of LegacyExpeditions.net)
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The mission is called Triple 7 Expedition: Seven Continents, Seven Skydiving, and Seven Days. If the team is successful, they will create a new world record. The closest comparison is to 2008, when Martin Downs set the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to complete a parachute jump over six continents, all but Antarctica, in just over eight days.
The team plans to meet in Punta Arenas, Chile on New Year’s Eve. They will then wait out a weather window before making their first jump to Antarctica, the most volatile place on their list.
“We want to start the clock once we get off the aircraft there, instead of starting at the other end and sailing smoothly and then sitting in Antarctica for six days waiting for the weather to improve,” Denman said.
The veterans will proceed to make the jump to Chile, Spain, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and Florida as quickly as possible. A documentary team led by Daniel Myrick (The Blair Witch Project) will follow their journey.
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But the eye-catching feat is more than just another check mark on the wish lists for Denman and his teammates. Their goal is to raise enough money to pay for 1,400 educational scholarships through Folds of Honor, a nonprofit organization that serves the spouses and children of fallen service members and first responders.
The Folds of Honor mission comes home to Denman. This month marks 17 years since one of his close friends was killed in action, leaving behind a young son who is now 22 years old.
“Her son had to figure it out when it came to taking care of his education,” Denman said.
The global war on terror remains the center of attention for many Americans, Denman said, but “it’s more and more forgotten every day.”
He worries that the children of service members killed at the end of the war will be forgotten when they head off to college and said Triple 7 wants to “fill the Folds of Honor piggy bank” as much as possible before that happens.
The Triple 7 expedition is raising funds for Folds of Honor, a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships to the spouses and children of fallen service members and first responders.
(Arizona National Guard photo by Sgt. Lauren Twigg)
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Triple 7 is the brainchild of former SEALs Mike Sarraille and Andy Stumpf, who now run the adventure company Legacy Expeditions. Stumpf is no stranger to high-profile, adrenaline-pumping feats, breaking the record for the absolute distance flown in a wingsuit in 2015.
The Triple 7 team also includes former SEALs Fred Williams, Mike Barker and Erik Prince; Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Officer Nick Kush; Canadian Special Operations Forces veteran Glenn Cowan; retired Green Beret Mike Glover; and Denman and former Marine Corps scout sniper Logan Stark, both of the Black Rifle Coffee Company, one of Triple 7’s sponsors.
Retired Army Ranger Jariko Denman participates in skydiving training ahead of the Triple 7 expedition.
(Photo courtesy of LegacyExpeditions.net)
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During his Army career, Denman did many static line jumps where the parachute opening mechanism is attached to an aircraft and the parachute opens automatically when its wearer falls. But he had never experienced skydiving until BRCC sent him and several other employees to skydiving school earlier this year.
“I really, really, really didn’t enjoy skydiving when I started out,” he said. “But I knew that most of the things in life that I really enjoy were really horrible at first.”
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He worked hard and now finds skydiving “incredibly therapeutic” and “inspiring for life.”
“I hope to inspire our veterans to go out there and find those things that aren’t necessarily easy, that aren’t necessarily super safe and aren’t necessarily super accessible,” Denman said. “But the veterans need to go out there and find a reason to get excited again.”
