Risk Management Magazine

Suddenly, BAM! Out of nowhere, I struck what I thought was a ramp. It was actually a raised roadbed that was closer than I remembered. Worst of all, I hit it at a slanted angle. The roadbed was about 18 inches high and had a sloping angle to the side of it. Hitting it in a HMMWV or truck wouldn’t have been a big deal, but it proved much differently in the SkyTrak.

Being in the National Guard, I’ve seen the emphasis placed on private motor vehicle (PMV) safety because of the vast distances some Soldiers must travel to and from drill. I’ve also noticed how that emphasis shifts when those same Soldiers are placed on orders at an armory or in the field for an extended period versus traveling daily to and from training.

One of the closest calls I’ve experienced happened at the very beginning of my career where most great Army stories occur — the National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California. I was a new infantry second lieutenant, freshly arriving at my armor battalion. Of what little I knew about being an officer, I knew even less about the (extremely important) role of the company XO.