Risk Management Magazine

As a kid, I had two dreams. My first dream was to become a pilot and fly; my second was to own a motorcycle. After starting flight school at Fort Rucker, Alabama, I finally had the money to make that second dream come true and bought a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R.

As the D Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade motorcycle mentor, I wanted to conduct a ride in light rain showers to prepare my less experienced Soldiers for the typical weather conditions they’d encountered while stationed in Hawaii.

In my younger years, I had all the qualities of an effective warfighter — strength, tenacity, energy, speed and fearlessness. Those qualities, however, didn’t necessarily translate well to safe motorcycle riding.