Courtesy Photo | Sgt. Jason Schmidlen, second from left, with Company G, Battalion, 7th Field Artillery...... read more read more
Subscribe
By Spc. Matthew Graham
BAGHDAD - On April 12, soldiers with 1st ‘First Lightning’ Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center tested their skills on a variety of distribution tasks in a ‘truck rodeo’ competition at Joint Security Station Loyalty, Iraq.
Truck rodeos, assessments of driver’s skills using their everyday job requirements, were popularized in the early 1980s by civilian truckers who wanted to determine the best drivers. The military uses its version of the truck rodeo not only to train, but to build teamwork and increase unit morale.
"I thought it was a good experience and it was something different that helped break up the monotony of the deployment, said Spc. Michael Ristine, with Company G, 1st Bn., 7th FA Regt. and a Tampa, Fla., native. “The truck rodeo was a good opportunity to make training fun."
Sgt. 1st Class Clifton L. Caulkins, platoon sergeant with Distribution Platoon, Company G, 1st Bn., 7th FA Regt. came up with the idea and plan for the rodeo. The soldiers of Company G were given one week to practice and prepare for the competition.
The truck rodeo consisted of four events, with eight teams—of two soldiers each— competing. The first event was the alley dock, where each team member had to back an M-1088 tractor truck and an M-969 tank semitrailer into a set of cones that were set up like an actual alley dock. For every cone hit, the team received 5 seconds added to the driver’s time. Each team member’s time was added together to calculate their final score.
The second event was the chock block toss. Each team member had to throw a wooden chock block as if they were throwing a shot put. Each team member’s measurements were added together for their final score.
The third event involved soldiers chaining down a contact truck onto a trailer. The team had two minutes to prepare and set their chains where they wanted them. In this event, both team members participated at the same time. Each loose chain resulted in an extra five seconds added to the total time.
The fourth and final event was the Palletized Load System hookup and flat rack transfer. The team had a PLS vehicle and a PLS trailer with two flat racks, one for the truck and the other for the trailer. This event involved one person driving while the other teammate guided the vehicle. The team with the fastest time won.
Placing first in an event gave the team eight points, second place was given seven points, and third place was six points. Once the competition was complete, all points were added up from each team to make an overall score.
“The rodeo was excellent training,” said 2nd Lt. Tanrea Johnson, platoon leader of Distribution Platoon, Company G, 1st Bn., 7th FA Regt. and an Elmore, Ala., native. “It was a great morale booster that helped relieve stress from our day-to-day mission set. We look forward to hosting another truck rodeo in the summer.”
Soldiers on the first place team were awarded a trophy and an Army Achievement Medal for both team members. Second and third place winners were awarded a trophy and a Certificate of Achievement for participating.
| Date Taken: | 04.12.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 04.24.2011 15:20 |
| Story ID: | 69276 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 272 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, 'First Lightning' Battalion soldiers compete in 'truck rodeo' skills competition, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
