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New course puts Marne drivers to the test
A Humvee makes its way down a concrete berm as part of the new Marne Combat Drivers Training Course, planned and built by soldiers from the 92nd Engineers. Photos by Lewis Levine

FORT STEWART — Just off Highway 144 east, Fort Stewart soldiers have a new training area that will help become better drivers in bad conditions.

The installation unveiled its new Marne Combat Drivers Training Course, a half-mile loop full of obstacles and hazards to teach soldiers greater command of their wheeled vehicles. “The obstacles are designed to provide the soldiers the ability to build confidence in their equipment and in their capabilities in unusual driving conditions,” said Lt. Col. William Watts, commander of the 92nd Engineer Battalion, which constructed the course. “We’re going to take advantage of these courses as much as possible. We hope this new training course and any training will reduce any accident in the future.” The engineers built berms, rough terrain stretches, uneven terrains, V-ditches and wet gap crossing to test drivers as they understand what their vehicles can – and can’t – do. “This is important – every mission this division executes depends soldiers who can move people, equipment and supplies safely in any condition,” said Col. Tim Meadors, the 3rd Infantry Division chief of staff. “Our lethality is tied to our mobility. Water crossings, ditches, deep grades, and rough terrain test our drivers in training and in combat. This course provides a proving ground for our soldiers before they ever face harsh driving conditions in combat.”

The course is the first of its kind for units in the XVIII Airborne Corps and just one of three in the Army. Other such tracks are at Fort Pickett, Va., and Joint Base Lewis-Mc-Chord, Wash.

Soldiers from the 92nd Engineers consulted with brethren at Pickett and JBLM about their courses.

“This is the first time we have been asked to design something that isn’t a typical design,” CW2 Erick Valentin of the 92nd Engineers said. “It took a lot of effort.”

Meadors called the drivers course “a training masterpiece.”

“This course was built by soldiers, for soldiers,” he said. “The 92nd Engineer Battalion designed and built every obstacle you see.”

With the 92nd doing the work, from surveying the 37-acre site to cutting down the trees and building the course, soldiers saved more than $1.1 million, Col. Meadors said, while they also honed their skills as engineers.

“I’m really proud of the team,” Lt. Col. Watts said. “They were able to build this for soldiers by soldiers. It exceeded my expectations. Because of them, soldiers in the future will be safer.”

There are seven different obstacles on the course and for the 92nd Engineers, this project was different for them. Ordinarily, they build shoot houses, sidewalks, pole barns and similar other structures, CW2 Valentin pointed.

“This is the largest construction project the 92nd has taken on,” he said.

Valentin’s personal favorite obstacle is the V ditch, as his soldiers had to research the approach angle and departure angle for the vehicles.

“It took a lot of planning and ingenuity on our part,” he said.

An infantry squad vehicle, or ISV, with a full load of soldiers, makes its way up a concrete embankment as soldiers test their skills on the new Marne Combat Drivers Training Course.