Risk Management Magazine

Despite increased messaging warning Soldiers of the dangers of riding a motorcycle, FY23 was the worst year in a decade for fatal PMV-2 (motorcycle) mishaps. The Army saw 38 Soldiers die in motorcycle mishaps in FY23 — well above the five-year average from FY18-22 of 24 fatalities a year. This is truly significant when it is estimated that only 12-15% of the Army population are motorcycle riders.

Winter was in full swing at Forward Operating Base Speicher, but the sky was clear. I could still see the sun and feel a sense of warmth; however, once reality kicked in, the air was chilly even at mid-day. My unit was on the last leg of a yearlong deployment, and the overall morale of my fellow Soldiers was high.

As evening approached, the crews were preparing for their night vision goggle (NVG) training mission. The task was to conduct readiness level (RL) progression for hoist operations. As the crew adjusted their NVGs and cranked the UH-60, they had no idea a routine litter hoist training mission would result in something much more.