“Roll over, roll over”, “Door, door” are the shouts heard around the Humvee Egress Assistance Trainer used by First Army’s Division West to train National Guard and Reserve Soldiers before their deployments.
The HEAT simulates a Humvee -- also referred to as High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, HMMWV -- that is overturning or spinning. It is capable of rotating and stopping in various positions allowing Soldiers to practice a variety of egress techniques at different angles.
According to the U.S. Army Combat Readiness /Safety Center, since October 2006 there have been ten Humvee rollover accidents resulting in injuries and or deaths of Soldiers. To better prepare vehicle crews to deal with these accidents, First Army’s Division West provides each Soldier approximately five hours of HEAT training that includes classroom instruction, medical screening, and demonstrations by the Observer-Controller/Trainers (OC/Ts).
Division West conducts this mandatory training before Soldiers deploy from its
Mobilization Training Centers located at Forts Lewis (Wash.), Bliss, Hood, (Texas), and Sill (Okla.). The time spent in this training can increase a Soldier’s rollover survival rate by 200 percent according to the Center of Army Lessons Learned.
The HEAT uses a simulated Humvee cab to provide a real-world experience in a safe, controlled environment. Each Solder must accomplish a number of battle drills in the trainer. In the first drill, the operator moves the vehicle side to side.
“The first sign of trouble before a roll over is when a Humvee reaches a 25 to 30 percent angle,” said Division West’s Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth W. Ball, OC/T and non-commissioned officer-in-charge of this training at Fort Sill, Okla.
The HEAT also turns 360 degrees to simulate a spin, but the real test comes when the simulator turns upside down and remains there until the Soldiers safely evacuate the trainer.
“The main focus of this training is for the Soldier to know the correct way to get out of the vehicle safely, it is a team effort, getting everyone out of the vehicle is what matters the most,” said Ball.
“The training is made as realistic as possible for these Soldiers. Not only are the Soldiers trying to orient themselves while upside down, they are also dealing with simulated foam ammunition boxes, weapons and water bottles flying around inside the HEAT,” said Ball. “The Soldiers have to know an ammo box, sometimes weighing up to 50 lbs, as well anything that is not bolted down can fly toward them and injure them in a real vehicle roll over.”
During the training there is a lot of shouting. The Soldiers shout “roll over” at the first sign of trouble to prepare everyone in the vehicle, and as soon as a door is open a Soldier shouts “door, door” to alert the rest of the crew that there is a way out that can lead them all to safety.
According to Ball, most of his troops say the hardest part of the training is being suspended upside down and knowing that when you release your seat belt you are going to hit hard. Soldiers are trained to properly and safely handle this situation.
Since October 2007, Division West’s 5th Armored Brigade, training at Camp McGregor, NM, has trained about 4,000 service members while its 479th Field Artillery Brigade at Fort Sill, Okla., has trained over 1,500 service members. The number of trained troops increases daily.
First Army Division West cares about the safety of all the Soldiers it trains. Striving to train Soldiers as they will operate, Division West continues to offer Soldiers the most up to date, realistic training available. This prepares them to deploy and execute their missions as safely as possible. The HEAT exemplifies the valuable and potentially life-saving training Division West provides.
By: Lori Waters
Public Affairs Specialist
First Army Division West
