Risk Management Magazine

As a young, thrill-seeking, soon-to-be Army aviator getting ready to start flight school, I did the stereotypical thing and bought a motorcycle. I’d ridden dirt bikes only a handful of times growing up and thought a street bike wouldn’t be much different. Eager to get on the road and start riding with friends that already had motorcycles, I signed up for the required Motorcycle Safety Foundation Basic RiderCourse (BRC).

“This is it,” the other pilot said, putting his hands into the air as I took the flight controls and entered an autorotation to the best landing spot — a 2,000-foot rock cliff! I knew if we continued this autorotation, we were going to crash.

The Profession of Arms can be difficult. At times, it involves missions in the extreme heat while wearing body armor and carrying weapons, ammunition and other gear. The Army’s answer for preventing Soldiers from becoming heat casualties is proper water intake. So, for decades, we’ve transported that water to the front lines via the 400-gallon M149 trailer — otherwise known as the water buffalo.