Kirk Knight, D-6709

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COL (Ret) Kirk Knight, Ph.D., died peacefully at Tampa General Hospital on August 26th, 2022, with family by his side.  There is a Kirk Knight Memorial Page on FaceBook, and his family and friends invite everyone to his Celebration of Life on October 1st, 2022, 11:30AM, at Skydive City, Zephyrhills, Florida.  Some of Kirk's ashes will also be making their way over to Deland for the Jumpers Over Seventy jumps.  Kirk was jumping hard just two months ago in Iceland, but came back to the U.S. with pneumonia and never left the hospital.  Kirk was just short of 8,000 jumps, and we will be distributing a memento to skydivers so that Kirk can keep jumping on his journey to 8,000 and beyond.  His biography follows:

Kirk Knight lived an adventurous and distinguished life as a U.S. Army soldier with over 34 years on active duty in defense of the Nation. He also performed duties as a U.S. Government civilian employee with over 20 years of dedicated service as the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) liaison officer to Special Operations Command—Central (SOCCENT) and U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). He was a decorated combat veteran, with three tours as an enlisted Infantryman and an Army aviation officer in Vietnam, and combat operations in Mogadishu, Somalia as Liaison Officer during the Battle of the Black Sea, among other named operations.  He served in countries around the world during his long career.  A key position was his time as Commander, U.S. Army Parachute Team – the Golden Knights, where Kirk led the team to National and World Championships.  He also had assignments as an Army Ranger instructor, and as the Deputy J5 for Plans and Policy with the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC).  Kirk culminated his Army career in 1999 as the U.S. Army Defense Attaché at the United States Embassy, Ottawa, Canada.

After military retirement, and a brief stint in the financial services sector, Kirk became a government civilian at SOCCENT and SOCOM in the aftermath of 9/11.  As an additional duty in his very limited free time, Kirk was a PRO demonstrator and Accelerated Freefall (AFF) Instructor for the USSOCOM Parachute Team – the Para-Commandos.  Kirk’s aerial skill, reliability, and tenacity ensured that the SOCOM Community Engagement Program reached audiences at some of the highest profile events across the United States, highlighting Special Operations Forces (SOF) missions, opportunities, and capabilities.  Always the consummate professional, Kirk represented SOCOM in front of millions of spectators, and tens of millions of broadcast, print, and social media subscribers.  Kirk was scheduled to retire in September 2022 after 55 years of combined military and government service to the Nation.

Skydiving was Kirk’s passion, and his contributions to the sport are numerous.  He is the recipient of the United States Parachute Association’s (USPA) Gold Medal for Meritorious Service, a National and International judge having served as Chief Judge of the USPA Collegiate Nationals and an international judge at the CISM championships, most recently in Austria in June 2022; a Skydivers over Sixty and Jumpers Over Seventy record participant; and an AFF Instructor Evaluator.  He was a trustee of the International Skydiving Museum and Hall of Fame, generously donating to the building fund as well as contributing innumerable volunteer hours on the path to “get it built!”  Kirk ended his jumping career in Iceland in July 2022, with 7,848 jumps.  His journey to 8,000 jumps came up just short, but his legacy and immense contributions to skydiving will live forever!

Kirk is survived by his brother, Chris and his wife, Gail; his son Chris, and his wife, Andi; and his step-son, Greg Foster, and his wife Colleen.

Blue Skies, always, Kirk.