Iron Horse cultivates leader development through motorcycle mentorship ride

Photo By Maj. Veronica Garcia | Motorcycle riders from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team “Iron Horse,” 1st Cavalry Division, participate in the brigade motorcycle mentorship ride March 17 traveling 78 miles to Llano, Texas. Motorcycle riders were instructed on how to safely merge into traffic, change lanes and maintain intervals on the highway.  

FORT HOOD, TX, UNITED STATES

03.17.2015

Story by Maj. Veronica Garcia 

1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division

FORT HOOD, Texas - Sixty-eight Soldiers took time to go on a 156-mile scenic motorcycle mentorship ride through Central Texas as part of a semiannual brigade safety event March 17.

Motorcycle riders from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team “Iron Horse,” 1st Cavalry Division, participated in the brigade motorcycle mentorship ride, traveling from Fort Hood to Llano, Texas, to refresh the basic ride skills that riders use on a daily basis.

Before departing, riders were instructed on basic motorcycle maintenance, how to negotiate curves and U-turns, accident avoidance and how to react to a mechanical breakdown.

“I am very proud of how this brigade is starting to care for this program,” said 1st Lt. Rickey Pinkney Jr., brigade motorcycle mentor and program officer, 1st ABCT. “We are leading the way. We are the only brigade on post to have 100 percent on safety inspections, so we must continue to lead the way; we must show the Army that the Iron Horse brigade does things the way it should be done.”

Pinkney, a native of Palm Beach, Florida, said the event also builds camaraderie between both novice and experienced riders and allows for more mentorship opportunities.

The group of Soldiers also discussed “Malorie’s Law,” a new Texas motorcycle law that went into effect in January. The law prohibits an operator from carrying another person on the motorcycle, unless the motorcycle is designed to carry more than one person and equipped with footrests and handholds for use by the passenger. The law is named after Malorie Bullock, who died from injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident in 2010.

It is important for leaders to understand the training requirements for riders, said David Sullivan, brigade safety officer, 1st ABCT.

“Leader engagement and leader involvement is critical to the Motorcycle Mentorship Program, without that, the program will not succeed,” said Sullivan. “We definitely need to have leader engagement involved. You know the old adage, ‘We take care of our own.’ This is what we are doing taking care of our own: We are checking to see if they are doing the right thing, receiving the right training and using the right personal protective equipment.”

• Date Taken: 03.17.2015
• Date Posted: 03.25.2015 12:51
• Story ID: 158026
• Location: FORT HOOD, TX, US
• Hometown: PALM BEACH, FL, US
• Hometown: TUNNEL HILL, GA, US