A Tangible Accomplishment

Now I'm officially certified to drive an MRAP. I passed the written test and the day/night driving evaluation.

Not that it was particularly hard, I didn't crash and the night test was pretty much just driving with headlights on. Granted, it is a large beast with poor visibility.

The fun part was changing a tire. Well, being king of the road was fun too. But changing a tire involved jumping on a wrench to break torque on the lug nuts.

Another part that is sure to be a hit at childrens' parties was the roll-over egress trainer. There is actually mock-up of an MRAP-type vehicle that you can strap in to, and then they roll it over so you can practice unbuckling and crawling out the various doors and hatches.

Being upside down, hanging from your seatbelt, while wearing all of your armor and equipment, you need to brace yourself before just dropping free. It sounds obvious, but some people forget that when the adrenaline is going.

When the vehicle is on its side and your buddy that was sitting next to you or across from you is now dangling on top of you... well you better remind him to wait until you are free and in a position to support him before he drops with a thud on to you.

Good times.

Now I need to see what other certifications I can pick up while I'm here.

I still need to get spun up on the remote control machine gun that can be mounted to the top of the MRAP.

Even though they are so 2006, I think my next vehicle will be an up-armored Humvee. Not really that different than a normal Humvee, but may as well get the official paperwork done.