From left, Pfc. John Ebner, 509th Clearance Company, Spc. Brandon Hicks, Missouri Army National Guard, and Pfc. Winton Bigham, Illinois Army National Guard, use shackles to attach a chain to a disabled vehicle prior to placing the vehicle in the wate...
A military vehicle lays on its side with the rear axle blown off.
As the recovery team arrives, they assess the situation and begin the task of overturning the vehicle so it can be towed back to base.
This is one of many scenarios students of the Wheel Vehicle Recovery Course face during the 16-day course at the Regional Training Site-Maintenance. Located at Fort Leonard Wood, this course allows Soldiers to earn the additional skill identifier of H8, Recovery Operations.
The H8 ASI is a specialized course that trains active, Guard and Reserve Soldiers to operate and maintain recovery vehicles and how to use standard procedures to rig and recover wheeled vehicles.
The course, taught at Fort Leonard Wood since 2011, presents the Soldiers with many challenges, said Staff Sgt. Robert Wilbur, course manager.
As the Soldiers gain confidence, the recovery missions become more elaborate, he said.
Pfc. Matthew Kinser, student from 509th Clearance Company, 5th Engineer Battalion, said one highlight of the course is the way the material is taught.
"What I really like about the course is how much hands on with the equipment we get," he said.
Wilbur added that with nearly a dozen vehicles set up in various configurations in the training area, the opportunities are endless.
(Editor's note: Schumaker is a senior insructor at RTS-M.)
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