thedrifter
10-25-07, 04:22 PM
The thought of being strapped into a High Mobility Multi-Wheeled Vehicle (humvee) rolling down a hill at speeds reaching up to 40 miles-per-hour can be quite scary. What would it be like? How would you get out if it stopped upside-down?
Instructors from the 2nd Marine Logistics Group’s Motor Vehicle Incidental Drivers School taught Marines what to do in this scenario during a training exercise, here, Oct. 19.
According to Staff Sgt. Harvey E. Gunnels, the staff non-commissioned officer in charge of MVIDS, the instructors conducted the HMMWV Egress Assistance Trainer course as part of a pre-deployment training requirement. The course taught Marines how important it is to use safety equipment properly because it can save lives.
Gunnels explained that the Marines attending the course included representatives from 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, 2nd Marine Division and 2nd MLG. These representatives were trained to become instructors of the HEAT system, giving them the ability to return to their units and prepare their Marines for deployments.
The HEAT simulator is the chassis of a humvee attached to a pendulum that rotates at nine revolutions per-minute. The Marines inside the cab must quickly exit the vehicle once it stops rotating.
“The simulator is designed to imitate a humvee rollover to prepare the Marines for possible incidents that may occur while deployed or in a training exercise,” Gunnels said. “It is not fast enough to endanger the Marines in training, but it is fast enough to give them the experience of what it would be like in a rollover.”
According to Gunnery Sgt. William A. Cartright, assistant director of MVIDS, the HEAT training felt very realistic. The simulator accurately replicated the jarring motions of a rollover and the straining of the seatbelts, along with several other conditions.
The course was successful in giving Marines the fundamental skills to work as a team to safely exit an overturned vehicle and served as a valuable tool used to strengthen the individual Marines’ overall knowledge.
“This training increases individual Marines’ confidence and knowledge,” Cartright said. “When (the Marines) are in a rollover, they can control the fear so that they can get all the gear and their fellow Marines out safely.”
Instructors from the 2nd Marine Logistics Group’s Motor Vehicle Incidental Drivers School taught Marines what to do in this scenario during a training exercise, here, Oct. 19.
According to Staff Sgt. Harvey E. Gunnels, the staff non-commissioned officer in charge of MVIDS, the instructors conducted the HMMWV Egress Assistance Trainer course as part of a pre-deployment training requirement. The course taught Marines how important it is to use safety equipment properly because it can save lives.
Gunnels explained that the Marines attending the course included representatives from 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, 2nd Marine Division and 2nd MLG. These representatives were trained to become instructors of the HEAT system, giving them the ability to return to their units and prepare their Marines for deployments.
The HEAT simulator is the chassis of a humvee attached to a pendulum that rotates at nine revolutions per-minute. The Marines inside the cab must quickly exit the vehicle once it stops rotating.
“The simulator is designed to imitate a humvee rollover to prepare the Marines for possible incidents that may occur while deployed or in a training exercise,” Gunnels said. “It is not fast enough to endanger the Marines in training, but it is fast enough to give them the experience of what it would be like in a rollover.”
According to Gunnery Sgt. William A. Cartright, assistant director of MVIDS, the HEAT training felt very realistic. The simulator accurately replicated the jarring motions of a rollover and the straining of the seatbelts, along with several other conditions.
The course was successful in giving Marines the fundamental skills to work as a team to safely exit an overturned vehicle and served as a valuable tool used to strengthen the individual Marines’ overall knowledge.
“This training increases individual Marines’ confidence and knowledge,” Cartright said. “When (the Marines) are in a rollover, they can control the fear so that they can get all the gear and their fellow Marines out safely.”