33rd revs up for motorcycle sortie

  • Published
  • By Ashley M. Wright
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Bikers from the 33rd Fighter Wing found a creative way to combine vital training with a top priority of Air Force senior leadership, motorcycle safety. 

Fifteen men and women, who will be training pilots and maintainers for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, participated in a motorcycle ride designed to train and protect the Air Force's most valuable assets - Airmen. 

The program served two purposes, according to Tech. Sergeant Daniel Mayo, 33rd motorcycle mentor. It established who in the wing rode motorcycles and that safety is paramount. 

The motorcycle ride aligned flying practices with safety goals laid out in an Oct. 13 Letter to Airmen from the Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley and Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, chief of staff of the Air Force. 

"Last fiscal year, 47 Airmen were killed in motor vehicles, with 20 of those fatalities occurring on motorcycles," the letter said. "This is nearly eight times the total number of Airmen killed in aviation mishaps, including combat operations, during the same time period. Our goal from this year forward is zero Airmen lost in preventable [Private Motor Vehicle] mishaps." 

The 140-mile ride was modeled after a flying sortie with threat assessments like sand on the roadways and construction zones, route maps and training objectives such as using hand signals, according to Col. David Hlatky, 33rd Fighter Wing commander. 

"We are treating this as a mission," the commander said. "It is not an accident we are training during duty time, but we found a way to make it fun." 

With just 20 miles of riding on a motorcycle prior to the mission, Lisa Jacobs, 33rd FW staff, found the mission extremely beneficial. 

"I think everyone benefited," Ms. Jacobs said. "This was my first group ride. I learned a lot about myself. It really built my confidence up. Everyone took such good care of me." 

The motorcycle ride debriefing, or mission review, allowed participants to give pros and cons of the program as well as a list of how it could be improved. 

Sergeant Mayo hopes to continue the rides throughout the year, possibly as a way to review new policies, he said. 

"It started out real small," he said. "But, hopefully it will get bigger."