Soldiers wrangle skills in annual event

By Spc.Derek L. Kuhn
40th PAD

	Photos by Spc. Derek L. Kuhn/40th PAD Sergeant Keith Hix, left, and Pfc. Michael Gantt, motor transport operators for Support Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, loosen lug nuts on a M1078 Light Medium Tactical Vehicle during the Fort Bragg Truck Rodeo, May 27. Hix, a Mountain Home, Ark. native and Gantt, a Roland, Ok. native, competed as a team against other Soldiers in eight events.

Rodeos are best known for bucking broncos and bodacious bulls, but such beasts were absent as Soldiers rode, wrestled and parked their automotive adversaries during the 4th Annual Fort Bragg Truck Rodeo at Smith Lake, May 27.

This year’s truck rodeo, hosted by Company B, Support Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group, U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, featured two-Soldier teams.
The teams tested their mettle in eight events that focused on precision, skill, speed, knowledge and attention to detail, said Capt. Michael Ariano, the commander of Co. B, Support Bn., 1st SWTG, USJFKSWCS.

The events included a written test, a preventative maintenance checks and services inspection of an M1078 Light Medium Tactical Vehicle, straight-line backing an LMTV, alley docking an LMTV, navigating a serpentine course in an LMTV, parallel parking a humvee, right turning a five-ton tractor with a 48-foot trailer and a timed LMTV tire change, said Ariano.

At the beginning of each event, teams received 20 points, but could lose points because of mistakes, Ariano said.

“The glass is half full,” said the Rockland County, N.Y., native. “Points are deducted for knocking over cones or softballs which are placed strategically in the driving events. In the PMCS, points are deducted for missing any of the three deficiencies. The tire change is a little different with first place taking 20 points, second place takes 19 and etcetera,” Ariano said.

Soldiers rotated events throughout the day, except for the written test and the PMCS station, which were held on the previous day.

Out of the eight events, Soldiers generally agreed on a favorite — the tire change station.
“The tire change is the coolest event,” said Spc. Nicholas Way. “It’s like a puzzle and a race. You’ve got to make sure the parts are where they need to be as quick as you can,” said the motor transport operator with the 1st Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.

Soldiers from another two-man team couldn’t agree more.

“The tire change is fun because it’s fast paced,” said Spc. Thomas Trawick, a human resources specialist with Co. A, Support Bn., 1st SWTG, USJFKSWCS, and a Savannah, Ga., native. “It’s like changing a regular tire, but it’s much larger.”

Private first class Alex Robles, a human resources specialist with Co. A, Support Bn., 1st SWTG, USJFKSWCS, thought the event’s time factor made it easy to make a misstep.

“You have to hurry up,” the Agudilla, Puerto Rico, native said. “Sometimes when you are going fast you make mistakes, but you have to drive on because it is a race against the clock.”

Though each event had its’ own unique challenges, many thought the alley dock event was the most difficult.

“The alley dock is the hardest,” Ariano said. “(The competitors) have to make an L-shape as they back up an LMTV attached to a trailer.”

Trawick, who had little experience with LMTVs, readily agreed.

“Turning with a trailer?!” he said. “It’s already hard without it. Come on man, I’m a (human resources specialist)!” Trawick joked.

Having a laid-back atmosphere was instrumental in ensuring the truck rodeo’s success, Ariano said.

“If we can get them more enthusiastic about brushing up on their driving skills, then it’s a success,” he said.

As the event ended, Robles said he thought it was a success.

“Before I trained for the rodeo, I barely knew how to drive an LMTV,” Robles said. “Now, I am much more comfortable. I really learned a lot.”

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