Risk Management Magazine

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.

Have you ever seen a convoy of military vehicles on your local interstate and wondered where they were going? Did you question whether you could cut into the formation to get into a faster lane? That was an issue I experienced when an impatient civilian motorist nearly caused a fatal accident during a convoy movement last year.