Photo By Mark Abueg | Backing up is never easy, but Roman Bieniek makes it look effortless as he maneuvers...... read more read more
WINCHESTER, Va. – The biggest concern people may have when driving to work is being on time.
For military units deployed overseas, punctuality is the least of their worries. They face dangers unlike any other when placed behind the wheel of a vehicle.
Whether an explosive device is placed inside of their car to a roadside bomb waiting to be detonated on a stretch of the road, drivers need a special set of skills that can’t be taught in a high school driver’s education class. It’s the mentality of chess-like maneuvers that prove most valuable to drivers.
The 579th Engineer Detachment (Forward Engineer Support Team - Main), based in Vicksburg, Miss., completed its last two days of training for the Individual Awareness Training Class here yesterday by learning to swerve and turn their way around terrorist attacks, and in some cases even learned how to smash into them.
“First you’re going to be doing driver enhancement,” said Dave, a BSR, Inc. instructor who asked his last name not be used. “And then you’re going to use that to build certain basic skills.”
Instead of reactive driving, the FEST-M learned advanced maneuvering as teammates weaved their way through a serpentine of cones, skidded on a wet pavement, and blistered through high-speed action on a racetrack of the BSR, Inc. campus.
“We want you to get your eyes out further,” Dave said. “Think about what you’re doing constantly. Be concerned with getting from point A to point B instead of daydreaming while you’re supposed to be driving, which is what most people do.”
The FEST-M learned to think instead of react. Reacting requires that you identify the situation and thinking allows you to plan ahead according to Dave.
“All the better police officers out there in the world and better soldiers and Marines out there in the world, they are thinking as they are moving through a situation,” he said.
Information obtained from BSR fact sheets show that few events are as dynamic and overwhelming as an act of terrorism. This is why Chris Culbert, the FEST-M’s automotive worker, knows the driver’s training will be instrumental to his success in a convoy.
“Stay focused, listen, and pay attention at all times,” Culbert said. “One thing I learned from this training is how to operate a steering wheel properly. When you turn, you don’t want to get locked up while you’re rotating your hands. That’ll help me a lot while I’m downrange.”
The engineer support team smashed its way through terrorist attacks on the last day of INTAC training. They learned to anticipate when something was going to happen by performing barricade breaching maneuvers, driving high-speed in reverse, and completing J-turns to avoid attacks.
“You’re constantly checking yourself, 360, and especially checking before you go over a hill and around a turn,” said Dave. “You’re checking your [back] to make sure that’s even an option backing out after going around the curve of the hill or around that turn you can’t see.
“And that way when that happens, you go immediately to execution of your escape plan as opposed to having to think your way through something or react and react wrong because you guessed wrong. So by putting your eyes forward, putting yourself forward, it’s a lot of work driving down the road.”
When downrange, the FEST-M will be placed in surreal situations not apparent to garrison life.
“This type of training will help you with your surroundings,” said Billy Stewart, FEST-M logistics management supervisor. “Get you situational awareness, and especially if you’re driving and moving your equipment to different locations. You’ll be a little more conscious and have good awareness of all your situations around you.”
As the FEST-M raced off the track to end its training, there was a sense of accomplishment. But there was also a feeling of the unknown as they received their certificates. This weeklong training showed the team the harsh realities that they face when overseas. Not only does the team have to think quickly on their feet when on ground, but it also has to think swiftly with their feet when on a gas and brake pedal.
Getting to point A, which is somewhere overseas, will be the easy part. It’s all the point Bs in the desert that will prove if INTAC helped the FEST-M in the long run [or drive].
This story is part five in a special report of the 579th Engineer Detachment (FEST-M)’s Individual Terrorism Awareness Class training in Winchester, Virginia. Mark Abueg is the FEST-M public affairs officer.
| Date Taken: | 01.30.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 11.12.2010 06:04 |
| Story ID: | 59973 |
| Location: | WINCHESTER, US |
| Web Views: | 33 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Through the armored glass, what an engineer team found there, by Mark Abueg, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT