Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Notes from Training, 3: Roll Over
Humvees are top heavy. Armored humvees are very top heavy. Roads aren't always level here, and off-roads even less commonly so. If an IED happens to go off, the road can become less level in a hurry. So once the incline passes 20 degrees or so, Humvees roll over. This is not a good thing if you are inside it at the time. So we get a drill with a Humvee simulator to practice what to do if it rolls over. Turns out, the main thing you do when a Humvee rolls over is, you roll upside down. If your seatbelt holds and you manage to get a hand or an elbow up in time to cushion the movement -while not getting it caught in the gun turret mount, which is going to turn, and if your fingers are there, they are going to migrate to the other side of the vehicle - your head doesn't smack into the ceiling, and you aren't pelted by loose objects flying around, then it's not that bad; you just hang upside down. (Unless the Humvee has entered a river, in which case you're upside down and your head is submerged.) If you can re-orient yourself and have freedom of movement, you can unbuckle the belt, gradually slide to the ceiling that is now the floor, open the door upside-down and get out. So that's what the Humvee rollover simulator simulates.
See the chairs behind it? They make you sit there for a few minutes after you're done to make sure you're not too dizzy. And that's about all there is to say about that.
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