Chapter 4: Basic Training - Part 2

One day during zero week in Basic Training,....

Wait, I better explain something before I continue. We were in basic training for nine weeks. The first week of basic training is called zero week and spent waiting for the rest of the new recruits to arrive and just trying to learn the basics and what was expected of us. The real training didn’t start until the second week of basic which they called week one. Makes sense, right? Okay, now I'll continue.

One day during zero week, someone asked us if any of us had a driver’s license. I did, so I raised my hand along with a few other guys. I think only about a dozen guys in the entire company had drivers licenses. We were pulled aside and were asked about our driving experience. I had my license for a couple of years already and even was a truck driver the electric company back home. Our licenses were checked and we were assigned to take the Light Vehicle Drivers Course.

Light Vehicle Drivers Course - This course trains and qualifies selected personnel for duty as military drivers capable of safe light vehicle operations and operations limitations, maintenance and emergency devices.

I loved driving school. I spent my days in school instead of being harassed by the drill instructors. I also got to stop by the ice cream stand walking back and forth to drivers training, which was forbidden! Having experience as a truck driver came in very handy for me. To get our military drivers license, we had to qualify in a jeep and five different sized trucks. The largest truck was one was the ‘Deuce and a Half’ and was used for carrying cargo or troops. I drove a line trucks for the electric company that were about the same size as this deuce and a half I became licensed to drive.
I passed the drivers training and issued my license on May 17, 1968. Here's the proof I passed.

Getting that drivers license was the best thing that happened to me while in training. I was regularly assigned as a driver which got me out of so much bull shit and even KP at least once a week. The guys were always so envious of me, especially the guys that had to relieve me from KP if they needed me to drive.

The best assignment as a driver was driving for the battalion commander. I’d just sit on a bench in battalion HQ waiting and then drove him around in a jeep so he could observe training. There was nothing like sitting around in the jeep watching the training instead of going through it.