The Red Bulls

CAMP UR, Iraq – The 121st Brigade Support Battalion “Iron Hammers,” partnered with the 10th Motorized Transport Regiment of the 10th Division, Iraqi Army, to put on the first-of-its-kind Master Driver Certification Course for the 10th Division at Camp Ur.

Since the 10th IA’s fielding of their new international five-ton truck variants, they have been plagued with accidents across the division. 

They sought out the 10th MTR for assistance based on their track record with the vehicles following their fielding. 

The Iraqi government purchased hundreds of the International trucks from Navistar Defense to revitalize a fleet of old and unreliable five-ton trucks amassed from several different countries.   Since the MTR’s fielding of these vehicles in August, the 121st BSB has been conducting focused maintenance and drivers training with them.
This has led to a greater proficiency with the vehicles, as well as confidence down to the jundee (soldier) level at operating them. The vehicles are now the primary means by which the MTR moves massive amounts of supplies throughout southern Iraq.

The MTR attributed their success to the efforts of the 121st BSB’ s  Operator, New Equipment Training (OPNET), coordinated by the BSB Logistics Training and Advisory Team (LTAT) and conducted by the Iron Hammer Master Drivers and Senior Mechanics. 

So, when it was time to train the 10th Division, the MTR enlisted the help of the Iron Hammers.  The BSB LTAT provided two instructors, Sgt. 1st Class Jason Tellez, a petroleum supply specialist, and Staff Sgt. Stephen Claybourne, a motor transport operator.  

Both have extensive training on a variety of Army vehicles and studied the five-ton International trucks at length to prepare for the course.   
The Master Driver course was designed to teach drivers from each unit how to set up a driver’s training program on the newly fielded vehicle to eliminate operator errors and costly maintenance repairs due to improper use.  

The Division has lost several new vehicles due to improper operations.  The MTR commander’s solution was designed to give the 10th IA Division what they would need to train themselves in the future with minimum assistance. 

"I was impressed by the level of involvement by the IA chain of command,” Claybourne said.  “The officers were involved heavily in the entire process.”

With the assistance of the Iron Hammer Battalion, the MTR was able to facilitate the Master Driver Course for the 10th Division at their camp, as well as provide instruction that was IA-led.  

"Most of the drivers had a basic knowledge of five-ton trucks, but we were able to answer a lot of their questions pertaining to the International five-ton version," said Tellez.

Twenty-eight Solders started the training and 20 successfully completed.   The other eight Soldiers were sent back to the basic drivers training course to increase their skills before becoming a master driver.

The instruction lasted five days and began with an introduction to the International 4200 series truck, which covered environmental safety and fuel safety considerations. 

The IA Master Driver Candidates were then trained on preventative maintenance, along with the engine characteristics and basic maintenance troubleshooting on day two.  Day three consisted of driver’s safety, rollover procedures, fuel system components and continued maintenance troubleshooting.  This session culminated with a hands-on performance exam that assessed their retention of the previous three days of instruction.  The hands-on performance exam covered proper vehicle start up procedures, preventative maintenance, troubleshooting and engine components.
Finally on day five, the Master Driver Candidates were given instruction on setting and administering a road test and final exam.

To test their retention again, the 10th IA Division Master Driver Candidates were given a performance exam and a road test utilizing the road test lanes they set up. 

The course culminated with a review to ensure the information was retained.  Finally the MTR injected a little spirited competition into the course where the Master Driver Candidates had to employ ground guiding procedures with proper hand and arm signal use and competed in a competition to see who could negotiate the course with the least amount of errors.

"I was extremely impressed by the professionalism of the 10th Iraqi Army Division Soldiers,” 121st BSB commander Lt. Col. David Wilson said. “They were very attentive and performed well on all assessment measures.  I am looking forward to the first iteration of Iraqi led drivers training."

 After all the After Action Review comments were recorded, the class instructors shared stories of accidents that had happened to Soldiers during duty and discussed the accident causation and what could have prevented the accident from happening.  This was a rudimentary stab at composite risk management which is a step in the right direction. 

“Overall a successful event by all accounts with the benefits to be seen within the coming weeks as the 10th IA Division continues to build its drivers training capacity across their extended footprint,” Wilson said. “The event puts the battalion one step closer at building ISF logistics capability in MND-S.”