Dozens of U.S. paratroopers injured after parachute jump during mock battle goes horrifically wrong

The exercise pitted soldiers from the Vicenza, Italy-based 173rd Airborne Brigade in a mock-battle scenario with Slovakian soldiers and American troops from the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team over the Hohenfels training area in Bavaria, southern Germany.

The American army said the drop was part of a scheme to switch the military focus back to fighting conventional forces as operations in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down.

It is unclear what precisley happened to cause the numerous injuries.

Officers at the clinic where the soldiers were treated said some of the injuries appeared related to parachutes drifting into nearby trees.

Most of the injuries occurred during the first wave of the morning drop, which involved about 650 soldiers.