Photo By Sgt. Thomas Day | A Soldier is tested on "tactically parking" a nontactical vehicle during a driving...... read more read more
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By Sgt. Thomas L. Day
40th Public Affairs Detachment
KUWAIT — From October 2003 to October 2004, 267 Soldiers were killed in vehicle accidents.
In the same period of time, the total of American servicemembers lost in combat in Afghanistan totaled 19.
With this in mind, units operating at or rotating through Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, have dispatched Soldiers of all ranks to the U.S. Army Advanced Skills Driver Course, offered twice a day at the George S. Patton Army Airfield.
"Our particular training can be used on all roads not only in Iraq and Kuwait but in the United States as well," said Henry Handler, the ASDC supervisor, a contracted worker with Combat Service Support (CSA).
The course teaches seven maneuvers, rotated through in five vehicles.
The first station teaches controlled breaking, where the driver will speed up to 50 miles per hour, quickly break and swerve around a "stalled vehicle" (simulated with cones).
Evasive steering is taught by emphasizing this point: Less time is needed to steer a vehicle around an object than is required to stop before striking it.
The "serpentine" exercise tests the driver's steering ability, where a driver will maneuver left and right around six cones. The instructor, in this exercise, will reinforce the driver's hand positions on the wheel. The key to maintaining control, Handler explains, is holding of the steering wheel at the three and nine o'clock positions. Holding the wheel at the ten and two o'clock positions will put your arms in the way of the air bag in the event it has to be deployed.
Parking exercises, Handler said, is "probably the most boring but the one people use the most." Drivers are tested on their abilities to back a vehicle into a parking space in a rigid, straight line.
Drivers are also tested on their abilities to recover control of a vehicle after the have veered off road.
The last two exercises are what Handler calls "the star of our show." The class tests drivers on skid control while turning around a curve and while making a sharp turn. The simulated conditions are accomplished by removing the driving shaft and the rear wheels from an SUV, replaced with wheels that look small enough to be from a John Deere lawnmower.
Drivers feel like they are ice staking for the first time. One driver, Handler recalled, took one sharp turn on the course with one hand on the wheel and the other covering her eyes. "She was from California."
Instructor Mac McCalmon asked the class, prior to the skid control exercise, if anyone suffered from motion sickness. One junior officer rose her hand.
The key, Handler insists, is targeting -- "looking where you want the vehicle to go."
'Not supposed to be fun'
Michael Schmutz, a 26-year Navy veteran, took Sgt. Jannifer Murphy on her driving exercise.
Murphy, a Wilmington, N.C. native, is a training noncommissioned officer with the 332nd Transportation Battalion. She was sent to the afternoon class on Feb. 27.
"This is not supposed to be fun," Schmutz told Murphy, in jest. "This is training."
Murphy, however, did have fun.
"When first arriving in Kuwait, I was very afraid to drive," Murphy said. "However, the teachings from this class made me aware of how to avoid accidents, and how to respond to different situations that I may encounter while on the road.
"The training is very well worth any soldier's time," she said.
In the coming months, another vehicle will be added to the course that, with a computerized chip, will simulate the effects of an intoxicated driver.
The class is run twice a day for five days, but soon it will jump to seven days a week. The instruction usually runs about three hours.
Graduates are presented a certificate, which the wise graduates will keep in a safe place.
"That certificate can be faxed to your insurance company back in the States," Handler said. "And it can qualify you for up to a 15 percent discount, depending on the insurance company."
Recognizing hazards
Currently, the Camp Arifjan course is the only driving course of its kind that the Army offers anywhere. That will soon change, according to Handler. "We have exported some of our (non-tactical vehicle) training to humvees and we are about to open a (up-armored humvee) familiarization course that we hope will educate our soldiers with this particular vehicle."
The up-armored humvee course will open at Camp Buehring, where many Soldiers train before entering Iraq.
"Up Armored humvees do not react as regular humvees and some of the narrow causeways near water in Iraq can cause dangerous situations for our soldiers," Handler said. "The critical angle of rollover for the M1114 is only 17 degrees and we hope that some of our training will help soldiers to recognize this hazardous situation."
| Date Taken: | 03.07.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 03.07.2007 10:29 |
| Story ID: | 9346 |
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| Web Views: | 748 |
| Downloads: | 220 |
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