Bob Niehoff is sitting in his office when his assistant Lisa Debick comes in to ask: “ROTC just called and they would like to know if you would do a tandem parachute jump at Fort Knox. You wouldn’t do that, would you?”

Bob, whose brother and nephew were both paratroopers, said: “Actually, I would like to do it if you can work out the timing”.

Somewhere over Fort Knox at 13,500 feet: “The sensation doesn’t hit you until they open the little rolling door and the 150 mph wind hits your face. This is like sticking your head out of the car window and a bit more. I’ll admit, I said a little prayer, after all, I’m in the business!”

Bob jumped first among the three in this group. He reports that the first thing that happens is sensory overload. “After a bit you think—‘I can’t hold my breath all the way down, so I had better relax and breathe’. After about 30 or 40 seconds, you start to pick out the landmarks: the gold depository, the railroad tracks, the river, the base housing units, and large buildings. The view is fantastic!”

“Obviously, everything happens pretty quickly, and I think to myself that there aren’t too many things you do in life that you get a shot at that have to work perfectly the first time– this is one!”

A couple of Bob’s reflections:
“It was great to see a piece of our ROTC student’s training. It was an experience that I now share with them.”

“What is my next adventure? I know our entrepreneurs will relate to this. I am going on retreat for a week and it will be so good not to have a list of things to do every morning.”

“During the week, I will also take the time to pray and reflect. I know that Bill Gates has made sitting in the woods and thinking famous in the popular culture, but the Jesuits have been doing it for 450 years, sorry Bill.”

One last question: Would you do this again?
Bob: “In a heartbeat”.

Editors Note: If you would like to see a 5 minute video of Bob’s jump: Click Here. (This is a large file and may take up to one minute to load).

To give Bob your thoughts: Click Here.