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Start thread highjack...
Ok, I love swapping stories! We went to the California desert for a Combined Arms Exersize (CAX). At the time I was the driver for our Platoon Commander. He was a great officer; a mustang and very well liked by the troops. Anyway, it's all open terrain out there and driving 45mph (what we were told is the maximum HUMVEE speed) just seems like crawling. Halfway through the first day I tactfully asked the Lt. how fast he thought I should go. He looked at me frankly and said "Giovannini, as long as you don't crash us, you can drive as fast as you want." Game on!
So I'd be out in front, leading our Platoon here or there. We were heading back to camp one day and a civilian/contractor van was going parallel to us. I decide to try and beat him there. I floor it and my HUMVEE gradually picked up speed and soon the engine is roaring and we are flying along. A HUMVEE's fan isn't always on; I think it only comes on when you get to a certain engine temp or something. But when it does come on, there's this wrenching noise from the engine and the belt squeals as it's abruptly turned on. So that happens, and the Lt. kinda leans over to see how fast we are going. The speedometer only goes up to 45, after that it's just red, and I've got it buried. But he doesn't say anything so I keep going. We beat the van in, and they follow us to the chow hall. They get in line behind us, and I ask them how fast we were going. Guy said he couldn't believe it; he was at 85 so we were going even faster. I just smiled to myself.
We'd be doing our training, and then my Lt. has to go and do his officer training. Our HUMVEE represented our entire Platoon, and he was being evaluated on the decisions he'd make during a combat simulation. We'd be darting here or there, and out in the desert there are few 'roads' and even fewer landmarks. I really had to be on the ball and pay attention about where we were. It wouldn't do to get my Lt. lost when his ass was on the line.
At the end of his exersize, basically we had to get from point A to point B in time to set up a defensive position to intercept some enemy tanks. The Lt. is over with some other officers with maps and everything, doing officer things, when he comes sprinting back to our HUMVEE. For an officer to run, much less sprint, something was going down. He says "Giovannini, get us to the Delta T (a cliff overlooking the surrounding ground miles and miles away) as fast as you can. I mean right fucking now." I start up ole' M34 and head out. As I'm doing so, I see a Colonel come running over to our Hummer. He jumps in the back with an aide, and I glance at my Lt. He just gives me a hurried 'go, go' pointing motion with his hand. These were the very guys who were evaluating my Lt.
So I'm driving across the broken terrain. There weren't even any dirt roads for me to follow. There are little 2-foot holes everywhere, boulders, and these bushes that grow on raised mounds of sand. I have to drive as fast as I can while avoiding the boulders, but if I had to I could plow right over or through the other obstacles. There were also dry riverbeds and sudden breaks in the ground that led to 3-5 foot drops. I'm cruising along, and a glance at my Lt. tells me he's worried about the time. No way was I going to let him down. I floor the pedal and I've got the needle buried and we are flying along. I ran over a particularly bad hole, violently jarring the whole vehicle, and I glance at the Lt. He just gives me that hurried 'go, go' pointing motion. I was already pushing my HUMVEE to its limits, so I grit my teeth and try to coax some more speed out of her.
The fan wrenches itself on, and the Colonel in the back grabs my seat and looks over my shoulder at the speedometer. "Damn, son" was his casual comment! Everyone is getting bounced around like crazy, and if it wasn't for the seltbelts we'd be hitting our heads on the roof. Then I come up on one of those sudden breaks in the ground with no time to slow down, and we actually go freaking airborne. I shit you not, the Colonel in the back goes "YEEEEEE-HAW!!!" like he's in the Dukes of Hazzard. We land HARD, gouging out a hole in the dirt and sand flying everywhere. We bounce and I keep the pedal floored and continue on. I galnce at my Lt. again like, 'was that ok?' For the first time, he nervously glanced back. But I was well past the point of getting in trouble for driving recklessly. In for a penny, in for a pound. I grimly drove on.
Finally we near the Delta T and my Lt. is checking his watch. The 'road' leading up to the top was on the other side, and I made the snap decision to save some time and drive up the cliff face. I'm knocking boulders aside and the tires are clawing for traction. As we near the top, I heave the wheel to the side to avoid getting high-centered. Then I race to the cliff edge and slam on the brakes. I winced at the grinding I heard from the trashed brake pads and we lurch to a stop. They all get out and are looking around with binos and maps and everything. The Colonel is checking his map and using a compass. I see him nod to the Lt. and he leaves with his aide. I shut M34 down and get out, doing a 360 of my poor, abused Hummer. I could feel the heat coming off the engine, and I checked a few things. The HUMVEE had survived all the abuse I had heaped upon it with flying colors. My Lt. walks over to me and says "Well done, Giovannini. We made it." High praise indeed.
After that, he was the one stating that I was the best driver in the Platoon. I gathered that they didn't expect us to make it in time, and we showed 'em wrong. I got to take advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to drive like a madman and not have to answer for it. I imagine if we took too long I may have been in trouble, but we did make it. The Lt. never mentioned our little adventure again, but I had his full trust when it came to driving. Mission accomplished.
So, there's my story. If you read it all, thanks for indulging me. Also, thanks for letting me re-live a great memory!
HUMVEE Driver
...end thread highjack.
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Well what the hell he wanted something unique and different.
