Thursday, April 26, 2012

SKYDIVE WITH THE U.S. ARMY GOLDEN KNIGHTS

I met LTC David Yebra, US Army, while volunteering for the Armed Forces Day at the Houston Rodeo in 2012. We were staying in the same hotel right outside the Rodeo grounds and just struck up a conversation (shocking, I know) while in the lobby one day. LTC Yebra works at Sam Houston State University and had a ton of questions about my work with military, media career and family.

About a month after meeting and multiple exchanged emails, LTC Yebra called me one day and asked me if I’d be interested in skydiving with the U.S. Army Golden Knights…….
I told him I’d think about it – just kidding, I’m pretty sure I screamed (not in his ear). It was a somewhat lengthy selection process and I impatiently waited for the call that I’d been chosen!

The morning of the skydive, I drove over to the field location in Lake Jackson and was greeting by a bunch of people in yellow and black flight suits as well as some very nervous civilians. I was so excited and about to check off a big bucket list item!

We all had to attend a brief that lasted about an hour (has any brief ever been shorter than an hour… be honest) and informed us about the history of the Golden Knights, the dangers of skydiving and procedures we’d follow. After that, we were assigned an order (mine was right in the middle) and then suited up! The jump suites were pretty awesome and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel “official”.
Fortunately, John, my tandem instructor was hilarious and we discovered early on that we both had a passion for…. Anchorman quotes. While waiting our turn we had deep, meaningful conversations about rich mahogany and wheels of cheese.

As our jump got closer, I noticed the other participants were getting nervous. Not me, I was so ready.
We loaded up in the plane after a quick pre-interview on the ground(yes, the GK’s video tape everything for you!) and we were on our way!
I did another interview while we were climbing up in the plane and all of the tandem instructors (especially John and Noah) continued to harass me- “You aren’t nervous? Are you sure?” and another would say, “you’re only about to jump out of a perfectly good airplane”. It was SOOOO amusing….
But I was just as confident as ever.

When it was time to jump out (insert alt), I was the third and final to jump and the young lady in front of me froze. She had an ice grip on the handles and wouldn’t let go… so her instructor put his hands over hers, rocked once, twice……gone! Whew, my turn. I’d gone over the instructions in my head 27 times before my legs and hands were in place. The wind was rushing in the plane but no time to think or even look down. Rock one, Rock two, jump….. WHAT THE HELL HAVE I DONE?!? (that last part lasted about 3.4 seconds and then I caught my breath and remembered I was on camera lol!)

It Was Awesome. I had absolutely no sense of time but know we were free fallin for a while then pulled the cord and caught under canopy. It was SUCH a rush. Once the chute was open John showed me some of the pulley system and how to steer. I could have stayed up there forever. It was such an incredible experience. The landing was great and they had a photographer right there to capture that moment as well. I don’t think I’ve showed but a handful of people the actual video (cheeks puffed out and mouth wide open from wind=not attractive). HUGE thanks to this wonderful group of service members. After my experience, one of the CPTs coined me with the U.S. Army Golden Knight’s coin because of my family’s military service history. It’s one of my favorites I’ve received and sits at the top of my display case.

Army Strong!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

THE REAL HEROES STORY





"Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude.  America will never forget their sacrifices."  -President Harry S. Truman


The Real Heroes on ESPN

The Real Heroes segment was created to tell the stories of patriotism, heroism, selflessness and love of our country.  We constantly talk, read and hear about celebrities, musicians, sports figures and politicians, but where would any of us be without the men and women that have raised their hands to defend our right to do so?

The Real Heroes helps discover and celebrate individuals whose love of country is greater than their own life.  They offer up the ultimate sacrifice and spend precious time away from their families and away from their beds so that we can sleep soundly in ours.
Listen to "The Horn" to hear military heroes, war heroes, wounded warriors and even their spouses, children and parents as we share these incredible stories.  These are our brothers and sisters, our sons and daughters, and our mothers and fathers. These are our real heroes.


Host, Ashley Kamrath, a native Austinite, grew up in South Austin and attended Hyde Park Baptist High School. Kamrath's favorite past times growing up in Central Texas were watching the Longhorns play ball at Memorial Stadium and attending Country music concerts out in Luckenbach, Texas.
After earning degrees in Public Relations and Public Speaking in 2003, Kamrath hosted the HotOn! Austin (NBC) and HotOn! San Antonio (CBS) television shows for five years. In addition, she has emceed dozens of events, been featured in over 30 commercials and acted in two feature films.

In 2007, Kamrath took on a Sales and Marketing position in the new homebuilding industry. She also worked as Vice President of Marketing for Military Relocation Support, alongside Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient, LT Michael Thornton. Currently, she is the Public Relations Director for Reveille Peak Ranch in Burnet, TX and 5.11 Tactical out of Irvine, CA.

In November, 2013, Kamrath won an Emmy Award for her work on the "Remembrance Rescue Project" video featuring a group of FDNY Firefighters that are touring the country educating children on 9/11. Catch Ashley on her new TV show, "On The Job with Ashley Kamrath" on Channel 6 in Austin, or on ACTV in Allen, TX where she co-hosts "Rec X" with German Deejay Flula Borg. She also hosts a weekly radio show on 104.9 "The Horn" called "The Real Heroes" and features military men and women that have accomplished extraordinary things.

She travels all over the country volunteering for military organizations such as: Wish For Our Heroes (Board of Directors), The Comfort Crew for Military Kids (Military Advisory Board), USO and Serve Who Serve, and is heavily involved in such events as: Armed Forces Day at the Houston Rodeo, Carry The Load-Austin, and Military Appreciation Night at the Dell Diamond.

www.Facebook.com/AshleyKamrath
Twitter/Instagram: @AshleyKamrath