Editing United States Navy SEALs (section)

==United States Navy Parachute Team "Leap Frogs"==
[[File:Ram air square.jpg|thumb|right|upright|A member of the U.S. Navy Parachute Demonstration Team, the "Leap Frogs", returns to Earth after a successful jump.]]

The primary mission of the Navy Parachute Team (NPT) is to support Naval Special Warfare recruiting by gaining access and exposure to appropriate candidates through aerial parachuting demonstrations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leapfrogs.navy.mil/pdf/npt_handbook.pdf |title=Navy Parachute Team handbook |website=U.S. Navy |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722202628/http://www.leapfrogs.navy.mil/pdf/npt_handbook.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2011}}</ref> The U.S. Navy Parachute Team is a fifteen-man team composed of U.S. Navy SEALs. Each member comes to the team for a three-year tour from one of the two Naval Special Warfare Groups located on the east and west coasts. On completion of the tour, members return to operational units.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leapfrogs.navy.mil/default.asp |title=Leap Frogs |website=Official U.S. Navy Parachute Team Web Site |access-date=1 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005010855/http://www.leapfrogs.navy.mil/default.asp |archive-date=5 October 2011}}</ref> The parachute team began in 1969 when Navy SEALs and Frogmen volunteered to perform at weekend air shows. The Team initially consisted of five jumpers: [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|LCDR]] Olson, [[Mass communication specialist|PHC]] Gagliardi, [[Storekeeper|SK2]] "Herky" Hertenstein, [[Parachute rigger#U.S. Navy and Marine Corps|PR1]] Al Schmiz and [[Mass communication specialist|PH2]] "Chip" Maury. Schmiz and Maury were members of the original "Chuting Stars."<ref name="leap-frogs">{{cite web |url=https://navysealmuseum.com/about-navy-seals/seal-history-the-naval-special-warfare-story/seal-histor-the-leap-frogs-origins-of-the-navy-seal-parachuting-exhibition-team/ |title=SEAL History: The Leap Frogs-Origins of the Navy SEAL Parachuting Exhibition Team |website=National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum |access-date=24 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029200551/https://navysealmuseum.com/about-navy-seals/seal-history-the-naval-special-warfare-story/seal-histor-the-leap-frogs-origins-of-the-navy-seal-parachuting-exhibition-team/ |archive-date=29 October 2013}}</ref> When LCDR Olson was transferred to California, PHC Gene "Gag" Gagliardi (D 546) of UDT Eleven introduced him to the local jumping elite with the San Diego Skydivers, one of the nation's first sports parachuting clubs. He convinced the Commander Naval Operations Support Group, PACIFIC to create a small demonstration team consisting of a cadre of highly qualified freefall jumpers. Its activities were to be conducted on a "not to interfere" basis with other military duties and at no cost to the government, other than utilizing normally scheduled aircraft. This group eventually adopted the "Leap Frogs" name.<ref name="leap-frogs"/>

The team was officially commissioned as the U.S. Navy Parachute Team in 1974 by the Chief of Naval Operations and assigned the mission of demonstrating Navy excellence throughout the United States. The East Coast-based "Chuting Stars" were disbanded in the 1980s with the "Leap Frogs" taking on all official parachute demonstrations within the Navy.

A typical Leap Frogs' performance consists of six jumpers leaping out of an aircraft at an altitude of 6,000 feet. After freefalling sometimes using smoke or streamers, the Leap Frogs fly their canopies together to build canopy-relative work formations. After performances, the Leap Frogs make themselves available to the public to answer questions about the Navy and the Naval Special Warfare community, as well as to sign autographs.