The loud and boisterous sound of motorcycle engines revving up filled the Fort Sill air as Soldiers and leaders from the 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade held a motorcycle safety ride.
Everything from Harleys to Kawasakis to dirt bikes showed up for the ride. The purpose of the ride was quite simple.
"It's a motorcycle mentorship ride to reinforce the safety foundation and to make sure we don't have any accidents or fatalities," said Command Sgt. Maj. Gerardo Dominguez, 31st ADA Brigade CSM. "It's designed to teach the basic principles and techniques for driving a motorcycle in a defensive manner."
The ride started off with a recap of recent motorcycle accidents. Brigade leaders took the time to allow Soldiers to analyze the accidents and identify their causes, along with ways to prevent them.
"One of the focus areas is to pair up less experienced riders with senior mentors. They rode together and mentored the Soldier so at the end of the ride they were better riders," said Dominguez. "Overall, the goal was that our Soldiers just embrace riding safely because accidents occur when the motorcycle rider is not paying attention and when they are not following standard operating procedures."
Dominguez had a special message for all the motorcycle riders.
"Drive in accordance with the laws and regulations and have a safe ride. We don't want to have you be a part of the motorcycle accident statistics."
Emory Fair, 31st ADA training analyst, says the brigade had taken measures to ensure that the ride was accident free.
"Overall, the ride was a success. No one got hurt, and anytime no one gets injured and everyone comes back safely, that is a success. We had plans in place and everything went smoothly."
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