Risk Management Magazine

As a brigade sport bike and senior battalion motorcycle mentor, dozens of Soldiers have asked me for advice about becoming a motorcyclist. Of these, one Soldier in particular stands out.

Striking a 150-pound deer with your vehicle can cause substantial damage, maybe even resulting in a total loss. Now imagine what a 5-pound bird impacting an aircraft traveling at 120 knots or greater can do.

I was about 500 feet from the exit for Fort Belvoir, riding in the right lane on a poorly lit section of the road. I was almost home free when I suddenly saw a gray mass in front of me. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to know what it wanted to do.