1ST LT. MANUEL E. SORIANO
1st Squadron, 18th Cavalry Regiment
California Army National Guard
Azusa, California

Convoy operations are the lifeblood of Army unit movement. Anyone familiar with Headquarters and Headquarters Troop (HHT), 1st Squadron, 18th Cavalry Regiment, out of Azusa, California, knows convoys are a cornerstone of our weekend drills. While many Soldiers view a convoy simply as a means of traveling from Point A to Point B, they often overlook the extensive planning, preparation and rigorous training required to execute these operations safely and effectively.

As the executive officer of HHT 1-18th Cav, my duty is to ensure every vehicle is maintained and mission-ready. Conversely, it is my Soldiers’ duty to conduct thorough preventive maintenance checks and services (PMCS) on these vehicles and ensure that all load gear, equipment and personnel are properly configured before we roll out. When these tasks are performed frequently, they become second nature. Therein lies the danger: familiarity often breeds complacency.

Once a task becomes repetitive, the temptation to find shortcuts to speed up the process grows. This is the critical point where officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) must intervene. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are not suggestions; they are established to ensure Soldiers operate at the highest level of safety. When a Soldier cuts corners, a routine task is transformed into a critical hazard. Our fundamental duty as leaders is to enforce these standards and mitigate risk to the lowest possible level — a lesson underscored by a recent incident during a routine convoy movement to a training site. Here’s what happened:

Our unit’s only approved training site is Fort Hunter Liggett, located northwest of our home station in Azusa. Reaching the site requires a convoy movement that typically lasts about 10 hours. It is a grueling drive, and as fatigue sets in, the impulse to take shortcuts increases significantly.

The movement began normally. Soldiers conducted PMCS and prepared for a 0700 departure. We initially convoyed without mounted weapons, but upon reaching a designated point, we pulled to the shoulder to mount our M240s, .50-caliber systems and the Long-Range Advance Scout Surveillance System (LRAS). Heavy traffic had already extended our travel time, and the crew was exhausted. After securing the weapons systems, we resumed the movement toward the training area. As we approached the first turn, disaster struck.

Watching the third truck in the convoy navigate the turn, I saw its two left tires slowly lift off the ground. The vehicle completely rolled over, coming to rest on the gunner’s hatch. The rest of the convoy halted immediately to remove the three crewmembers inside the overturned vehicle. The crew was fortunate. Because they were disciplined in their use of vehicle restraints, they escaped with only minor bruising and a small head wound. The equipment was not as lucky; both the M240 and the LRAS were destroyed.

Our subsequent investigation identified a single, avoidable failure: the Soldier manning the gunner’s hatch failed to engage the turret lock prior to movement. When the driver turned, the LRAS rotated to the opposite side. The sudden shift in weight and momentum was severe enough to cause the truck to overturn on flat ground.

Lessons Learned

Even though this unit had executed countless convoy operations and these Soldiers knew their responsibilities like the backs of their hands, there was no excuse for this lapse in discipline. Fatigue is a reality of the mission, but it is never a justification for complacency. We have all heard the saying that "complacency kills." In this instance, we were lucky that no Soldiers were lost to that reality, but the destroyed equipment serves as a stark warning. Soldiers must follow proper procedures and regulations at all times without exception. As leaders, we must be relentless in ensuring that those duties are performed to standard every single time.