Photo By Melissa Buckley | Marine Gunnery Sgt. Davin Gioacchini, Motor Vehicle Operator Course staff...... read more read more
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — Fort Leonard Wood’s sizable 62,000 acres of land and scenic byways, makes it the ideal place for service members to learn to drive large trucks, maneuver through obstacles, and navigate training routes through the curves and hills of the Missouri Ozarks.
Soldiers and Marines, in a vehicle transportation operation military occupational specialty, start their journey with the Army’s 58th Transportation Battalion and Marine Corps’ Motor Transportation Instruction Company.
After graduating from basic combat training, Soldiers with the MOS of 88M Motor Transport Operator, or “88 Mikes,” as they’re commonly called, attend the Army’s six-week, three-day Motor Transport Operator Course, part of the U.S. Army Transportation School headquartered at Fort Lee, Virginia. The transportation battalion at Fort Leonard Wood trains the Transportation Corps’ largest MOS — with an average annual training load of more than 5,000 Soldiers.
Marines come to Fort Leonard Wood’s Marine Corps Detachment for a 38-day Motor Vehicle Operator Course to teach them the MOS of 3531 Motor Vehicle Operator.
The vehicles Soldiers learn to operate in MTOC are the M1083A1 5-ton cargo truck; M915A3/A5 and M872 A4 Tractor and Semi-Trailer; M1120 A2/A4 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck Load Handling System; and the M1076 Palletized Loading System Trailer.
“A 5-ton is the smallest vehicle they are going to drive. It is the first vehicle we start them in because it is most like their personally owned vehicles. The tractor trailer is longer, so it turns differently. And the LHS is the most difficult because the wheels are behind the cab, making the turn radius feel completely different,” said Isaac Smith, Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles instructor.
According to Marine Master Sgt. Dalton Revier, MTIC assistant academics chief, Marines learning to be motor vehicle operators train on five Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement platforms and one Logistics Vehicle System Replacement platform.
They are the MK23 and MK25 7-ton cargo trucks; MK28 extended cargo truck; MK593 trailer; and LVSR platform MKR18 tactical cargo truck.
Revier said his company also manages two advanced courses for the additional Marine MOSs of 3534 Semi-trailer Refueler Operator and 3536 Vehicle Recovery Operator.
According to Revier, Marines in those courses learn to operate the MTVR platform MK-31 tactical trailer, M970 fuel trailer, MK36 wrecker and MKR15 LVSR wrecker variant.
Andy Scott, MTOC chief, said the Army course’s curriculum is currently on the route to modernization to “build a more capable and tactical Transportation Corps.”
“The 88M Motor Transport Operator Course at Fort Leonard Wood is undergoing a significant transformation, shifting from traditional classroom-based instruction to a more immersive, technologically advanced and tactically focused training experience,” Scott said.
Smith, who served as an 88M Motor Transport Operator for 25 years, said his MOS is all about supporting the warfighter and there is much more to being an operator than just driving.
“We are not just truck drivers. We are masters of logistics. We serve a big role in helping the Army complete the mission,” Smith said. “This is a great MOS if you want to feel useful and needed.”
Revier said his MOS is mission essential because, “simply put, we are the ones that move the Marine Corps.”
Pvt. Daniela DelToro, Company A, 58th Transportation Bn., agreed and said she was eager to finish her training at Fort Leonard Wood and be on her way to Fort Stewart - Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia, where she will carry on her family’s legacy.
“With this being a support MOS, I can’t wait to get there and I am excited to start helping people. I want other Soldiers to be able to look at me and know I am dependable and I am going to get them what they need,” DelToro said. “I was excited to get to choose this MOS. My grandpa was a truck driver. I am following in his footsteps.”
| Date Taken: | 09.29.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.29.2025 15:50 |
| Story ID: | 549606 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 23 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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