Army investigating TikTok video of paratrooper jumping with Ocean Spray cranberry juice

Rachael Riley, The Fayetteville Observer
·2 min read
Paratroopers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, conduct a rotary-wing airborne operation onto Sicily Drop Zone on May 5 at Fort Bragg. Paratroopers used personal protective equipment and proactive distancing to maintain personal readiness and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Paratroopers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, conduct a rotary-wing airborne operation onto Sicily Drop Zone on May 5 at Fort Bragg. Paratroopers used personal protective equipment and proactive distancing to maintain personal readiness and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Army leaders are investigating a video depicting a paratrooper jumping with cranberry juice that was posted to TikTok, a social media app.

On Oct. 17, a reporter for Task&Purpose tweeted the video of the paratrooper, who appears to be in a parachute harness and sipping on Ocean Spray cranberry juice as Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” plays in the background.

The video appears to be a re-creation of another video shared last month by another TikTok user identified as Idaho resident Nathan Apodaca.

Apodaca’s video depicting himself skateboarding and lip-synching to the Fleetwood Mac song as he drinks cranberry juice from the bottle has generated more than 11 million likes on the platform.

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Responding to the Task&Purpose reporter via Twitter, the 18th Airborne Corps Twitter page said leaders would investigate the incident.

The soldier appears to be a specialist, and the hashtag slogan “AATW” is used in the video, meaning Airborne All The Way – a saying used across airborne units in the Army.

The soldier’s name is not shown in the video, and he does not seem to be the TikTok user who uploaded the video.

The user also posted the video with the hashtag "82nd airborne."

Officials have not confirmed whether the paratrooper is in the 82nd Airborne Division.

On Monday, Col. Joe Buccino, a spokesman for the 18th Airborne Corps, said the matter was still being looked into.

“We’re looking into the matter to try to see what unit he may belong to, does the unit have a specific policy (related to safety), and was it violated,” Buccino said. “There is an airborne (standard operating procedure), but also unit-specific (standard operating procedures).”

In 2015, another soldier assigned to Fort Bragg, Matthew Tattersall, shared a photo that was widely spread on social media of him jumping with a goldfish in a water bottle.

In an interview with the Army Times, Tattersall said he was issued a company-grade Article 15 for nonjudicial punishment, with extra duty and a requirement to write an essay about airborne safety.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Army investigates TikTok video of paratrooper with Ocean Spray