Get upside down and get happy-Soldiers experience vehicle rollover training

Photo By Pfc. Haley Haile | Soldiers with the 224th Maintenance Company and the 213th Medical Company (Area Support) prepare for the HMMWV Egress Assistance Trainer (HEAT) during an annual training exercise here. The HEAT provides soldiers with military vehicle rollover training in a secure, controlled setting. “You have to trust the gear you have and the guys here with you,” notes Spc. Erik Yarbrough, a generator mechanic with the 224th Maintenance Company. “You just have to know they are going to be there to get you out.” (Photo by Pfc. Haley E. Haile)  

FORT CHAFFEE, AR, UNITED STATES

05.13.2015

Story by Pfc. Haley Haile 

119th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

FORT CHAFFEE, Ark. – Soldiers with the 213th Medical Company (Area Support) and soldiers with the 224th Maintenance Company participated in the HMMWV Egress Assistance Trainer (HEAT) during an annual training exercise here. The HEAT provides soldiers with military vehicle rollover training in a secure, controlled setting.

"It's very important, and now is the time to prepare,” reflected Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Karr, the readiness noncommissioned officer of the 224th Maintenance Company. “I’ve seen a couple of rollovers, and if you don’t do it right it can turn out bad. We do this every year to prepare our soldiers.”

Before the soldiers participate in the simulation they are given a safety briefing to ensure they understand exactly what will happen and what they should be doing in the situation. Once in the truck, each soldier is checked to confirm they are completely seat belted in and all gear is secured as it should be.

“You have to trust the gear you have and the guys here with you,” notes Spc. Erik Yarbrough, a generator mechanic with the 224th Maintenance Company. “You just have to know they are going to be there to get you out.”

The simulation goes through the process of a mock rollover with the soldiers seat belted in just as if they were in an actually military vehicle. This training allows the soldiers to experience the sensation of a rollover scenario while in a controlled setting.

“Its effective in getting you an orientation and experience in being upside down,” observed Yarbrough. “It is a little intimidating. This is my fifth or sixth time, but once you hit that break over point that level of discomfort is always there. You just have to get upside down and get happy.”

• Date Taken: 05.13.2015
• Date Posted: 05.20.2015 15:02
• Story ID: 163984
• Location: FORT CHAFFEE, AR, US
• Hometown: MARSHALL, AR, US
• Hometown: MOUNTAIN HOME, AR, US