Alpha 5 team trains to break skydiving record in Roswell

ROSWELL, N.M. – The Alpha 5 Team is training in Roswell to break a world record, but it also wants to leave behind a bigger purpose. 

Larry Connor, the founder and captain of the Alpha 5 Project, says they are training for the world record HALO “high altitude and low opening” formation skydive.

On Monday morning, Alpha 5 team members trained out of two hot air balloons for the record launch.

“The mission is to try to go up to 35,000 feet and do a high altitude jump, break a world record by having five halo jumpers connect and fall together in free fall, from 35,000 feet all the way to the ground. So to do that, we have one of the largest balloons ever built in the U.S.,” said Brandon Daugherty, the team commander for Alpha 5 Project. 

Team members say it’s more than just a world record:

“More important is the purpose, which is to help the Special Operation Warrior Foundation raise money to support the families of special operators who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” says Connor.

The goal is to raise one million dollars for the Special Operation Warrior Foundation.

“They basically pay for the tuition, any education expenses from cradle all the way to career for the children of special operators that are killed in combat,” said Daugherty. 

“They are dedicated career people. They’re sure not doing it for the money, and they’re willing to go around the globe, put themselves in harm’s way to protect this great country,” Conor said. 

The record-setting jump is scheduled for sometime in mid-September through mid-October. For more information on where you can donate, click here.