Karma

Thunder 6 brings back some "fond" memories as he relates his experiences with driving in the pitch blackness of night in Iraq.

I remember my first attempt at night driving with Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) when I was stationed at Ft. Knox. We were maneuvering through the Kentucky forests driving at probably about 25 or 30 mph, the trees were close on each side of the vehicle and the clear sky could be seen above but with NVGs on everything had a green glow about it. Because depth perception was lost when wearing NVGs the road appeared to be a smooth dirt track, just as we entered a small clearing the Track Commander (TC) started screaming, “Watch out for that hole!”, and I replied, “What hole?”, just as the APC nosed into a 3 foot deep trench. Thankfully we came right back out the other side although not without a couple of head slaps from the TC. I learned quickly that depth perception was gone with NVGs and while I did master the ability it was as Danjel indicates, it was always an exciting experience.

Karma bit me back though; when I was a TC my driver did the same thing to me at Ft. Bliss, only he nosed into a 6 foot deep trench, or wadi. Driving with NVGs in the desert was worse than anywhere else as all landmarks seemed to disappear at night and the dunes all seemed to be the same height. Thankfully I dropped down into the vehicle before we went over to avoid hoping to avoid any broken bones, by being thrown clear of the vehicle. Lost my coke though as I left the can on the top of the APC when I dropped in. A lost drink is better than a broken bone!

Keep up the good work Danjel.

UPDATE: I've looked at those speeds I posted and they seem awful fast. But hey, I young and immortal then so I'm sticking with them. For all I know it could have been only 10 mph and at night with NVGs on, it could have seemed like it was 25 mph. All I really remember is having the throttle pressed to the floor at the time.