Riders gear up for safety

Photo By Staff Sgt. Kelly Carlton | Riders from 4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, set off on their quarterly mentorship ride which promotes motorcycle safety and camaraderie, March 30. Although there was a slight chance of rain, the group of 12 riders headed out on Highway 17 from Skyline Cycles in Waynesville to St. James, Mo., then turned south and came back around to their starting point, completing nearly 150 miles.  

FORT LEONARD WOOD, MO, UNITED STATES

03.30.2012

Story by Sgt. Kelly Carlton 

4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. – A group of motorcyclists with 4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, gathered at a local cycle shop, Friday, March 30, for a team ride which promotes motorcycle safety and camaraderie in the Army-wide Motorcycle Mentorship Program.

According to the official MMP website, the purpose of the program is to establish voluntary installation-level motorcycle clubs where less experienced riders and seasoned riders can create a supportive environment of responsible motorcycle riding and enjoyment. This effort is intended to create positive conduct and behavior, thus serving as a force multiplier.

Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Bulman, training supervisor, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th MEB, 1st ID, is one of those force multipliers.

Bulman functions as the unit MMP representative, and as such, is responsible for coordinating these mentorship rides. He said he has been riding motorcycles for more than 35 years, fully understanding the importance of safety before taking off on a ride.

“We check licensing, motorcycle training cards, vehicle registrations and provide a check list for their bikes,” said Bulman, “It’s a great opportunity for people in the unit to get together and share a common interest, and it builds esprit de corps, and gets the guys together and looking at each other’s equipment.”

One of the brigade’s more experienced riders is Master Sgt. Randy Cheadle, training chief, HHC, 4th MEB, 1st ID, and he provided the group with the last safety brief just before their departure.

“It’s important that we talk safety,” Cheadle told the group of riders, “I had a soldier when I was a first sergeant who completed all the training, went out and bought his bike at 11 a.m., and by 1 p.m. he was lying in the wood line with multiple broken bones.”

Safety is one of the main focuses of the program and the mentorship rides.

Staff Sgt. Jeff Martin, school non-commissioned officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 5th Engineer Battalion, 4th MEB, 1st ID, who was part of the mentorship ride Friday, has been at Fort Leonard Wood for about a year and has been riding motorcycles for nine years, and is a proponent of the MMP.

Martin said he believes the young soldiers truly benefit from the motorcycle mentorship program, and its safety precautions. He said soldiers get into the Army and get all their deployment money, and then go home and buy a big street bike and some end up crashing.

The program is a good idea, he added.

“No matter how you know there is always sometime to learn,” said Martin.

The riders will stop along their route to break for lunch then continue riding until they return to the installation here completing nearly 150 miles.

• Date Taken: 03.30.2012
• Date Posted: 04.05.2012 12:21
• Story ID: 86296
• Location: FORT LEONARD WOOD, MO, US