A Specialist assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, died in a government motor vehicle (GMV) mishap 17 June 2021 on the installation. During a vehicle movement to the heavy demolitions range, an M1088 FMTV with an attached trailer collided with the rear portion of the lead High-Mobility Engineer Excavator Type 1 (HMEE-I) vehicle. The collision caused significant damage to the front of the M1088, which resulted in non-life-threatening injuries to the truck commander and fatal injuries to the driver. The driver of the HMEE-I also received non-life-threatening injuries. There were no other occupants or passengers in the vehicles and no external witnesses to the mishap. The U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center is leading a safety investigation into the mishap.

Since 2016, the Army has experienced an average of 12 GMV mishaps per year. This mishap was the fourth GMV fatality of FY21 and below the number of similar mishaps during the same time period last year.


Tactical motor vehicle mishaps are the number one on-duty killer of ground-based Soldiers.
Mishaps commonly occur while traveling to or from a range or other event. Ensure your risk assessment addresses hazards and control measures related to vehicle movement to and from the range/event. Critical issues to address include:

- Drivers trained in accordance with Army Regulation 600-55 – ensure they are trained and licensed on the specific vehicle/variant and appropriately supervised.
- Convoy procedures – pay particular attention to convoy speeds, following intervals and visibility.
- Fatigue – ensure vehicle operators have adequate rest before conducting a mission.
- Real-time risk assessment – new risks can arise unexpectedly during mission execution; leaders must continually assess hazards, develop controls and make risk decisions.

Rehearsals, pre-combat checks and pre-combat inspections are key factors for mission success.
The Joint Risk Assessment Tool (JRAT) contains more information and will assist you with the development of your deliberate risk management worksheet: https://jrat.safety.army.mil

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