Guardsmen Train on Heavy Vehicles

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. - Soldiers with the 213th Regional Support Group, Pennsylvania National Guard, trained on the proper care, maintenance and hazards of driving and operating large military vehicles July 23.

The exercise ensures Soldiers know how to operate and maintain military equipment such as Humvees or Light Medium Tactical Vehicles.

These and other basic Soldier skills maintain readiness for state active duty missions, deployments and combat.

"These are people who have probably never been in a military vehicle or around a military vehicle to know the PMCS (preventive maintenance checks and services) procedures and what to look for," said Master Sgt. Anthony Mauro, the primary instructor of the Humvee portion of the driver training class.

"We'll get them in [the vehicle] and give them a visual acuity test, color test, several tests here in the classroom will take place with the driver's box," he said. "When they're done, we'll take them out there and they'll be with their section trainer who has already been through the class and has trained and will walk them through the steps."

All Army personnel who drive, maintain or conduct PMCS of a military vehicle must train on the dangers, risks and procedures.

"A military vehicle is a very different vehicle than your civilian vehicle. There are a lot of blind spots," Mauro said. "Our vehicles are heavy. They react differently to your driving. The steering is different, the braking is different. It's really to promote a safe environment and keep our Soldiers safe when they're out on the road and in the training areas."

An LMTV is a 4x4 wheeled vehicle outfitted to carry troops, haul vehicles and transport military equipment such as a howitzer. The Soldiers learned preventive maintenance and identified the parts and features of the vehicle, such as the cab and how to lift it up using the proper switches. They also learned hand and arm signals and how to use them to ground-guide a vehicle.

"LMTVs and Humvees, there's a difference," Mauro said. "LMTVs are much larger and heavier. I went through the LMTV training prior to an annual training many years ago, and we had a tire blowout on the way to the training area along the highway. Without the training, the risk for injury would have been very high.

"The training was definitely there for us."

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