Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Steven Rougeau | A Joint Task Force Guantanamo service member demonstrates proper parking techniques...... read more read more
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GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba — When it comes to moving service members and supplies across U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. Army looks to the Light Medium Tactical Vehicle as the transport of choice. For 10 Soldiers assigned to Joint Task Force Guantanamo, the opportunity to drive the vehicle began with a recent three-day course that took them through some challenging terrain on the Cuban landscape.
The 40-hour LMTV course, which took place June 23 through June 26, was a combination of classroom instruction, open-road and off-road driving. The students spent the first day learning the intricacies of the vehicle. The second day was spent completing closed-site training at McCalla Hangar runway. The final tests consisted of both a nighttime and a daytime drive around U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay and through treacherous and rugged hills that dot the landscape here.
"At the beginning of the class, we have each student introduce them self to the rest of the class so that they become familiar with the person who may be their co-driver during the road test," said Army Sgt. Jonathan Vasquez, a light-wheeled vehicle mechanic with the 525th Military Police Battalion's motor pool and one of the course instructors. "From there, we teach the students vehicle safety and the basic mechanics of the vehicle before we put them behind the wheel."
Vasquez, who has been assigned to JTF Guantanamo for roughly 15 months, and his team of instructors have led 10 such classes with a varying number of students. The most recent class consisted of 10 students — the largest class to date — who were assigned two-to-a-vehicle in the five LMTVs the battalion employs for the road tests. A course instructor sat in the middle jump seat to evaluate their progress.
Prior to mounting their vehicles, the students received a briefing from Vasquez and Army Staff Sgt. Johanna DeJesus, the senior instructor and a member of the Puerto Rico National Guard's 480th Military Police Battalion, on basic road safety and potential hazards that could challenge the drivers during the open-road test. Vasquez took the lead ahead of the convoy, driving the only family of medium tactical vehicle in the battalion's vehicle inventory on the island.
"Since we have two students per truck for this class, we road test each one for a half-hour. So the final road tests are roughly an hour long," Vasquez said. "Once we reach our designated stop [along Sherman Avenue], the second driver takes the wheel so that we can evaluate them during the return trip to the motor pool."
Vasquez said that while the closed-site training may seem simple enough, traversing the hills around Guantanamo Bay can test the students' nerves, especially at night. During the most recent class, a vehicle attempting to cross a hill during a nighttime test nearly ran into a ditch. The rear wheels became airborne when the weight of the vehicle caused it to pitch forward.
While the rate of course failure is low, Vasquez said that he has had students fail to safely navigate the steep hills and were forced to leave without earning their driving certificate and license that is required to operate the vehicles on the island.
"When [Soldiers] initially arrive for the training, many are already experienced drivers at their [respective] commands," he said. "But if they do not have a certificate, they are required to complete the course and we issue them a certificate once they successfully complete the training."
Vasquez said that, while the course is primarily conducted for the benefit of Soldiers, personnel from sister services are allowed to test as long as there is available space in the class.
"If their command has a need to enroll a service member [from another service branch] in the course, we will accommodate that request as long as we have an available slot."
For more information about Joint Task Force Guantanamo, visit the Web site at www.jtfgtmo.southcom.mil.
| Date Taken: | 07.03.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 07.07.2009 09:06 |
| Story ID: | 36070 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 396 |
| Downloads: | 257 |
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