Sgt Leprechaun
09-04-11, 07:22 PM
New center to train Marine motorcyclists
By James K. Sanborn - Staff writer Posted : Saturday Sep 3, 2011 9:56:22 EDT
Marine Forces Reserve has a new $1 million motorcycle safety training center in New Orleans, complete with a track, 12 motorcycles, and state-of-the-art simulators.
The center is up and running aboard Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, giving the Reserve a consolidated location to train its Marines who are spread across the country.
“Marine Forces Reserve has some serious challenges in that, of our 180-plus locations, most of them are not aboard or near any military installations,” said Jeff Peters, the Reserve’s director of safety.
That means many don’t have access to training facilities at major East or West Coast facilities. As a result, it is difficult for them to comply with training regulations that require every Marine who rides a motorcycle to complete a series of safety classes.
“In fact, there are only roughly 30 of our 180-plus locations that have that capability,” Peters said.
Reservists aren’t the only Marines who will attend courses at the center. It will also support active- duty Marines in New Orleans, Navy and Coast Guard personnel and Marine recruiters, who like reservists are often stationed far from major installations.
Active-duty Marine recruiters and reservists can sign up for a motorcycle safety course in New Orleans by contacting Jeff Peters at 504-697-8158 or by e-mailing marforres_safety@usmc.mil (marforres_safety@usmc.mil).
“We also support Marine Corps Recruiting Command because recruiters ... are not afforded the same capability that someone aboard Camp Pendleton [Calif.] or Camp Lejeune [N.C.] would have, where base safety takes care of it for them,” Peters said.
Reservists who attend training in New Orleans will receive temporary additional duty orders. The Reserve will pay to fly them to the facility, and they will be given room and board on base while they complete two- to three-day courses.
The center is equipped to train everyone from the novice rider — including those who have never been on a motorcycle — to expert riders who have logged thousands of miles.
For the inexperienced, their time at the training center begins with a few hours on the center’smotorcycle simulators. At $190,000 apiece, the center’s four simulators accounted for much of its budget, but they are able to hone rider skills without risking injury on the open road. They can even teach a beginner how to start a bike, get it in gear, brake and corner.
“It actually affords the rider the ability to experience some of the effects of actually riding without physically putting themselves in jeopardy if they have never ridden a bike before,” Peters said. “When you accelerate, they kick back. When you brake, they tip forward. As you turn corners, they go left, they go right. It has the appearance of a very high-end video game.”
But the training experience doesn’t end there.
Classes are kept small, with about six students to every instructor. After a few hours of classroom time, Marines finally head to the track where they put their skills to the test under the watchful eye of certified instructors.
There, they are able to use one of the center’s motorcycles — six cruisers and six sport bikes. While most Marines at major bases conduct training on their own bikes, officials determined it would be unreasonable to expect reservists to ride or transport their bikes from across the country for safety training.
The center is the latest development in a Corpswide motorcycle safety initiative launched in 2008 under then-Assistant Commandant Gen. Jim Amos. After 25 deaths that year, Amos pushed to mandate safety training.
A year later, bike-related deaths dropped to 14 Corpswide. Last year there were nine. There have been nine deaths — none of them reservists — so far this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.
Marines are required to complete the Basic Riders Course within two weeks of buying a motorcycle. Then they must take the Military Sport Bike Rider Course or the Experienced Rider Course within four months, depending on the type of bike they have. Then they must participate in advanced training at least once every three years.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2011/09/marine-new-center-to-train-marine-motorcyclists-090311/ (http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2011/09/marine-new-center-to-train-marine-motorcyclists-090311/)
By James K. Sanborn - Staff writer Posted : Saturday Sep 3, 2011 9:56:22 EDT
Marine Forces Reserve has a new $1 million motorcycle safety training center in New Orleans, complete with a track, 12 motorcycles, and state-of-the-art simulators.
The center is up and running aboard Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, giving the Reserve a consolidated location to train its Marines who are spread across the country.
“Marine Forces Reserve has some serious challenges in that, of our 180-plus locations, most of them are not aboard or near any military installations,” said Jeff Peters, the Reserve’s director of safety.
That means many don’t have access to training facilities at major East or West Coast facilities. As a result, it is difficult for them to comply with training regulations that require every Marine who rides a motorcycle to complete a series of safety classes.
“In fact, there are only roughly 30 of our 180-plus locations that have that capability,” Peters said.
Reservists aren’t the only Marines who will attend courses at the center. It will also support active- duty Marines in New Orleans, Navy and Coast Guard personnel and Marine recruiters, who like reservists are often stationed far from major installations.
Active-duty Marine recruiters and reservists can sign up for a motorcycle safety course in New Orleans by contacting Jeff Peters at 504-697-8158 or by e-mailing marforres_safety@usmc.mil (marforres_safety@usmc.mil).
“We also support Marine Corps Recruiting Command because recruiters ... are not afforded the same capability that someone aboard Camp Pendleton [Calif.] or Camp Lejeune [N.C.] would have, where base safety takes care of it for them,” Peters said.
Reservists who attend training in New Orleans will receive temporary additional duty orders. The Reserve will pay to fly them to the facility, and they will be given room and board on base while they complete two- to three-day courses.
The center is equipped to train everyone from the novice rider — including those who have never been on a motorcycle — to expert riders who have logged thousands of miles.
For the inexperienced, their time at the training center begins with a few hours on the center’smotorcycle simulators. At $190,000 apiece, the center’s four simulators accounted for much of its budget, but they are able to hone rider skills without risking injury on the open road. They can even teach a beginner how to start a bike, get it in gear, brake and corner.
“It actually affords the rider the ability to experience some of the effects of actually riding without physically putting themselves in jeopardy if they have never ridden a bike before,” Peters said. “When you accelerate, they kick back. When you brake, they tip forward. As you turn corners, they go left, they go right. It has the appearance of a very high-end video game.”
But the training experience doesn’t end there.
Classes are kept small, with about six students to every instructor. After a few hours of classroom time, Marines finally head to the track where they put their skills to the test under the watchful eye of certified instructors.
There, they are able to use one of the center’s motorcycles — six cruisers and six sport bikes. While most Marines at major bases conduct training on their own bikes, officials determined it would be unreasonable to expect reservists to ride or transport their bikes from across the country for safety training.
The center is the latest development in a Corpswide motorcycle safety initiative launched in 2008 under then-Assistant Commandant Gen. Jim Amos. After 25 deaths that year, Amos pushed to mandate safety training.
A year later, bike-related deaths dropped to 14 Corpswide. Last year there were nine. There have been nine deaths — none of them reservists — so far this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.
Marines are required to complete the Basic Riders Course within two weeks of buying a motorcycle. Then they must take the Military Sport Bike Rider Course or the Experienced Rider Course within four months, depending on the type of bike they have. Then they must participate in advanced training at least once every three years.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2011/09/marine-new-center-to-train-marine-motorcyclists-090311/ (http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2011/09/marine-new-center-to-train-marine-motorcyclists-090311/)