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That does seem a bit over the top.
I guess that means you folks are considered a valuable asset(rightly so).
At least they don't make you wear fingerless gloves and (assless) chaps
And the 'mitten' story damn nearmade me spit out my drink on the keyboard....
here in fort bliss tx, we have to wear the reflective vest every time we ride on and off post!.... its really the only thing that bothers me but, hey Im riding no matter what they make me wear. im expecting to start using our flak vest here pretty soon, i cant wait!.... oh they also issue tickets for going 26 in a 25 mile zone and they will stop you doing 25 to let you know that you have reached the speed limit on that road!.... HELL YEAH, now thats taking care of a battle buddy.
Most motorcycle fatalities are car vs motorcycle. Most of those are the cars fault. Lets have a motorcycle awareness class and make all car driver attend.
That's a good frickin idea, and if I am in a position to make it happen in the future I will. Soldiers I have known who were injured or killed on a motorcycle were two flavors. 1. Young, new rider on Japanese bike of 600cc or more (usually much more) riding outside the envelope of his experience level. 2. Older, experienced rider on cruiser or Japanese bike meets car driven by unattentive driver. The military is taking appropriate steps to mitigate the risk posed by group one, but not much about group two is ever addressed.
IMO the military is getting way out of control with the "safety" precautions. I"m a civilian working at Forward Operating Base Salerno in Afghanistan. The 101st makes the soldiers wear reflective belts, during the day and night, when workign on the flight line{think about that, a reflective belt worn across their chest makes one hell of a target for any a** with a rifle wishing to take a pop shot at an american soldier} they make them wear gloves while operating any motorized vehicle including a gator{like a golf cart} the temp three days ago just started to break 100, it's getting out of hand. I"m not even going to get into the crazieness that they make the civilian contractors who work on their helicopters back home.
The Army's gotten crazy with the safety stuff because everyone in the authority positions are afraid of being held liable when a soldier wraps himself around a telephone pole. A battalion commander will report to brigade that a soldier was killed in an accident wearing no helmet and with no safety course under his belt, and the brigade commander is going to respond, "Well WTF!?!?!?". I see that as a justifiable concern, and as a response to that issue they institute the requirements. In execution though, I think they take it a bit far. I understand the mandatory helmet thing...we chose this line of work, knowing that for as long as we're serving, we're essentially Army property. Yes, we're all grown adults and can make our own decisions, but we're something of a valuable commodity. As such, it's in the Army's best interests for us to be in the best possible deployable condition, so we can actually serve in the capacity for which we signed up. If we're laid up in the hospital with a head injury because we were on a bike without a helmet, it's a situation the Army sees as having been preventable. This applies to being not line-of-duty if you get killed in an accident as well. The Army's all about mediating risk (to a fault), so if they can institute measures to avert risk, they're gonna do it. Some of those measures strike me as a box check though.
I understand the helmet, eye-pro, boots (all stuff I'd wear anyway), but I think the reflective vests are over the top. It's what headlights and taillights are for. Don't think I don't find it all to be a pain in the *** either...a lot of it isn't in the required worn items, but the approach taken, like as a motorcycle rider we're automatically the ones at fault. I agree with more education for the cage drivers.
I remember coming back from a month at JRTC, and over the first weekend we had after getting back, a soldier wrapped his sport bike around a telephone pole. Seems like that's the case with any deployment, whether to the sandbox or a training center...some kid kills himself in the very first week back by using poor judgement. It doesn't help our case one bit.
The Army's gotten crazy with the safety stuff because everyone in the authority positions are afraid of being held liable when a soldier wraps himself around a telephone pole. A battalion commander will report to brigade that a soldier was killed in an accident wearing no helmet and with no safety course under his belt, and the brigade commander is going to respond, "Well WTF!?!?!?". I see that as a justifiable concern, and as a response to that issue they institute the requirements. In execution though, I think they take it a bit far. I understand the mandatory helmet thing...we chose this line of work, knowing that for as long as we're serving, we're essentially Army property. Yes, we're all grown adults and can make our own decisions, but we're something of a valuable commodity. As such, it's in the Army's best interests for us to be in the best possible deployable condition, so we can actually serve in the capacity for which we signed up. If we're laid up in the hospital with a head injury because we were on a bike without a helmet, it's a situation the Army sees as having been preventable. This applies to being not line-of-duty if you get killed in an accident as well. The Army's all about mediating risk (to a fault), so if they can institute measures to avert risk, they're gonna do it. Some of those measures strike me as a box check though.
I understand the helmet, eye-pro, boots (all stuff I'd wear anyway), but I think the reflective vests are over the top. It's what headlights and taillights are for. Don't think I don't find it all to be a pain in the *** either...a lot of it isn't in the required worn items, but the approach taken, like as a motorcycle rider we're automatically the ones at fault. I agree with more education for the cage drivers.
I remember coming back from a month at JRTC, and over the first weekend we had after getting back, a soldier wrapped his sport bike around a telephone pole. Seems like that's the case with any deployment, whether to the sandbox or a training center...some kid kills himself in the very first week back by using poor judgement. It doesn't help our case one bit.
Is anybody besides me getting tired of the rules imposed on riders on a military installation.
Gotta wear boots
Gotta wear Bright colors
Gotta have full finger gloves
Gotta have eye protection
Gotta have embeded reflective at night
Not that these aren't a good idea but it is starting to **** me off. Next we will have to have a flashing stobe light on our head or a neon sign to ride. the worst part is they can do a line of duty on you if something happens even off base. AAARRGG.
Coming from a JAG officer they would have to prove that by not wearing the items is what caused the inguries. I have seen good lawyers help soldiers out when they try to pull "Line of duty" on someone.
And yes I am sick of it also. I just had to retake the MSF course so I can register my bikes when I get stationed in Germany.
And WTF can they not make up their minds. Some instalations require reflective gear at tall time, some only require bright upper garments during the day. [:@]
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