A group of 20 Army Reserve parachute riggers from Fort Bragg, N.C. received a brief glimpse of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle when they participated in the familiarization training at Army Support Activity-Dix March 2.
Soldiers of the 824th Quartermaster Company, Detachment 9, were taken on a tour of the MRAP by Soldier instructors from the 72nd Field Artillery Brigade where they looked under the hood and sat inside the more than $750,000 vehicle. The instructors showed and explained to them a variety of things about the vehicle including various mechanical and safety points, the brake system, and other facts about it such as the 500-pound armored doors on each side of the vehicle.
The 824th QM Co., Det. 9 Soldiers, who are mobilizing at ASA-Dix for an upcoming deployment to Qatar later in the month, say the odds of using the MRAPs in their daily missions are remote, but they understand the importance in gaining the knowledge on the more than 15-ton vehicle and how it works.
"It's good training in case you actually do need to get in one downrange you'll know where the communication headsets are, you'll be able to open the door, and will know the layout of the vehicle," said 824th QM Co., Det. 9 2nd Squad Leader, Sgt. Eric Loughran, from Thomasville, N.C.
It's also a vehicle that, according to Sgt. 1st Class Christopher McLean, 72nd FA Bde. MRAP instructor from East Ampton, N.J., takes a lot of getting used to if you were to drive it.
"It's like night and day. There's no comparison to driving a regular vehicle. It's a completely different animal," said McLean.
"You must respect the size, it has a danger of flipping over because it's top-heavy, and you have to watch out for electrical wires and trees because it's 12-feet high," he said.
McLean also mentioned that because of the massive size of the vehicle it turns very slowly and has limited visibility while driving, which there are drivers' measures they can use to compensate for these challenges.
The 824th QM Co., Det. 9, has been training at ASA-Dix since mid-February, and their mission while in Qatar will be to prepare pallets with supplies including ammunition, food, and water, as well as the parachutes. They will then assist in loading the pallets onto various military cargo planes, where the supplies will be air-dropped into Iraq and Afghanistan.
| Date Taken: |
03.05.2010 |
| Date Posted: |
03.05.2010 16:15 |
| Story ID: |
46207 |
| Location: |
FORT DIX, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Web Views: |
218 |
| Downloads: |
156 |
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