Why does the army make you dress up like a damn power ranger just to ride your bike? Mandatory Items Include: Full face helmet "in a state with no hemlet laws", Reflective PT Belt, Long Sleeve shirts at ALL times even if its a 120 degrees, Full Finger Gloves, and a Mandatory MSF class "two of them" to ride... I'm just happy i live off base. And on top of that my scoot is my only ride, and i was taking my wife to work "and so i could sign out on leave" at 3am in a heavy downpour this morning and as soon as i got threw the gate on base a MP scurried off and proceded to ride my *** "to check my speed" i guess and then pulled up along side of me "to inspect that i had me and my wife had all the proper power ranger items" and then fell back to ride my *** again, well the light turned red and i start to break and this fool is still on my *** and almost HIT ME then i let off the break so i dont get hit and re brake for the light but now i dont have enough room so i break just a tad harder and get freakin sideways so i let off the rear and just say to hell with it and ran the light so i wouldnt whipe out, and then the damn MP speeds off like nothing happend! wtf is up with that...

 

Same reason they'll article 15 your *** for getting an extreme sunburn.

 

Most likely because some dummies in the Army didn't know how to ride their scoots safely, on and off post. In the miltary service there's a saying, "We're here to defend democracy, not to practice it." In the military, your well being belongs to Uncle Sam. They have an investment in you and they want to protect their interest. What do you think G.I. stands for? It means, "Government Issue." You are expendable, but only at their discretion.

 

A program some nit wit zero came up with to boster his OER.

 

Over here we have to wear a reflective vest on USAF bases and not on Army bases. They make us wear minimum 3/4 helmet for MSF courses, but never say anything about wearing a 1/2 coming through the gate. I take the long sleeve shirt and vest off when weather permits*. They "threaten" with "line of duty" determination if you get in a wreck and don't have all of your required safety equipment on. I'm guessing that's the same as when they say your family won't get the life insurance if you commit suicide, which I know is not true because we had a Capt blow his brains out and his wife still got the cash.

*edit add, after going out the gate to ride.

 

When did they start the full face helmet stuff? I ride on the same post as you do, never had an issue with wearing a ½ hat. Some of the MPs/ Govt. police do have hard-ons for bike riders.

 

Because they can.

 

I am sure the ff requirement is a local policy. DoD policy is a DOT approved helmet, goggles if no visor, long sleave shirt - light colored during daylight hours, reflective material at night, pants, sturdy over the ankle boots and full fingered gloves.

Since the local post commander has some leeway on standards, other requirements I have seen include: Reflective vest or PT belt at all times, and also yearly MSF course.

The yearly MSF Requirement (I was stationed on a Marine base) had nothing to do with safety. The young marines were coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan and buying sportbikes. The insurance was pretty high so they would drop it at some point. The yearly MSF requirement meant they had to take the course and reapply for a base sticker, providing insurance proof.

It did tick me off untill I realized they were forcing me to spend two days riding my bike instead of shuffling paper. In retrospect I think we should have to take the course every 6 months! LOL

 

Same reason they like you to dress up like Darth Vader in a combat zone...full protective gear...

 

garymann has it right. The DoD loses so many young troops a year in bike "accidents" they went overboard on the safety gear trying to prevent at least a couple of them. The vets from SWA were coming home, a wad of cash in their pockets, and looking for some adrenaline rush to replace what they had just left, and quite a few went out, bought big metric sport bikes, with no real bike experience. The end result was a big spike in vehicle fatalities. Obviously, it's not good for unit cohesiveness to lose several guys from a squad, platoon, company, or whatever, so they decided to make it a PITA to ride anywhere near/on a base. Last year the stats actually improved on DoD motorcycle fatalities. This year though the trend is in the wrong direction, so look for more draconian regs imposed by local commanders to try and prevent you from being one of them.