U.S. Navy Parachute Team thrills rural youth in Kentucky

LEBANON. Ky. - The U.S. Navy Parachute Team, made up of U.S. Navy SEALS and parachutists conducted a rare jump into a rural town while the team was participating in Louisville Navy Week April l5-22. The jump was due to the hard wotk and coordination by local resident and retired Chief Petty Officer Tom Probus.

Probus, who retired from the Navy recently and whose last assignment was aboard the USS Kentucky, bought a Victorian home in Marion County after leaving the Navy. The town is about 70 miles from Louisville in the Bluegrass Country that's the trademark of Kentucky. Still being connected to the USN as a proud retiree, he began making contacts in February to take advantage of the Leap Frogs' visit to the area for the Thunder Over Louisville air show and other Navy Week events.

"Marion County is where my wife went to school as a child. I just knew it would be the memory of a lifetime if the Leap Frogs came out and performed for the kids here - I was very determined," Probus said. After his Navy retirement, Probus joined the Navy League's Central Kentucky Council and became its Navy Affairs Coordinator. This gave him a good link to the planning for the Leap Frogs' visit during Louisville Navy Week.

For the Marion County show, the Leap Frogs jumped out of an Air National Guard C-l30 from about l3,000 feet. During free fall, the jumpers reached 120 mph and accelerate to faster speeds in what is called a "track." After deploying their parachutes, the Leap Frogs flew their canopies together to build dramatic formations.

"The Leap Frogs performance represents the skills these Sailors learned as Navy SEALS and special warfare Sailors after joining the Navy," Probus said. "I wanted these kids to see the power of our Navy."

The team was led by Senior Chief Petty Officer Lance Leafers, who has traveled the globe during his 20-year Navy career, and plans to retire in Kentucky in about three years with his Louisville-native wife, Misty.

"The people here are so patriotic." Leafers said. "They show great appreciation for our challenging missions in the War on Terrorism."

Leafer has himself returned recently from a deplovment and plans to go again.