Throughout the Army, motorcycle mentorship rides are taking place.
On Nov. 19, 2015, U.S. Army Health Clinic-Schofield Barracks (USAHC-SB) conducted one of those mentorship rides.
Sgt. 1st Class Julian Lobato and Sgt. Scott Vrooman are the clinic's motorcycle riding mentors.
Lobato, with 17 years of riding experience, enjoys training the clinic's soldiers on the "right and wrongs" of motorcycle riding.
He ensures soldiers are complying with Army Regulation 385-10, a regulation that covers The Army Safety Program.
This means checking soldier's gear, ensuring they are wearing long sleeves, long pants, full above-the-ankle leather boots, and a reflective jacket or brightly covered gear to ensure the rider can be seen.
The rider must also wear protective eyewear if they are wearing a half helmet, or if wearing a full helmet but have the visor up.
Before each mentorship ride, Vrooman and Lobato give an hour long class which covers the basics such as the route they will be riding, the return route, how to ride in staggered formation, and proper hand signals.
They also cover other topics to include how to ride in a single file formation when going through curves or what to do if you see an obstruction in the road.
Lobato led the riders for approximately 30 miles and Vrooman followed as the Rear Road Captain to ensure everyone stayed together.
If any rider had a problem and needed to pull out of the formation, Vrooman was ready to conduct a sweep to ensure that rider was okay and would stay with the rider until he or she could rejoin the formation.
"Mentorship rides are a mandated requirement by the Army and are conducted by USAHC-SB monthly. But, if a soldier comes to the mentorship ride and doesn't have the proper gear, they don't get to ride" says Lobato.
Vrooman added, "Sgt. 1st Class Lobato and I also have a master log of all of the clinic's licensed riders that have motorcycles. We make sure their motorcycle license, registration, insurance and safety check are current. We also give them heads up if something is getting ready to expire so they can get that handled."
Lobato and Vrooman are not only teaching proper riding habits but also increasing esprit de corp amongst the riders.
They ensure the riders are practicing safe habits while having fun.
Sgt. 1st Class Julian Lobato is the Non-Commissioned Officer-In-Charge of the Soldier Health Care Services and Sgt. Scott Vrooman is a Non-Commissioned Officer at the Physical Therapy Clinic at USAHC-SB.
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