U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers conducted training on the Army’s latest all-terrain vehicle at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, August 12, 2019.

The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, known as the JLTV, is currently being fielded across the Army Reserve. The 40-hour course provides full level maintenance training designed to give Army Reserve Soldiers and civilians familiarization with the JLTV.

Master Sgt. Joseph Warminski, noncommissioned officer in charge of the maintenance course with the 94th Training Division, 80th Training Command, said the training is based on lessons learned from legacy vehicles used by the Army since 2012. 

Most notable of these is the high mobility, multipurpose, wheeled vehicle, or Humvee.

“It’s a crawl, walk, run environment,” said Warminski. “Students perform troubleshooting, towing, water fording, night driving, hardball driving, and off-road maneuvers.” 

Each student put in about 40 miles of driving time on courses filled with turns, curves, stops and obstacles. So far, about 140 Army Reserve Soldiers have completed the course.

“The course develops confidence in vehicle handling and the students love it,” said Warminski.

The JLTV is unique in a couple ways.

“It’s the first military vehicle that is interactive with the driver and it sports a totally new suspension system,” said Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Yocum, a JLTV instructor with the course.

This suspension system allows the vehicle to adapt to challenging terrain and have a comfortable ride.

Yocum said the comparison between a JLTV and a Humvee is like night and day.

“You jump into this thing after being in a Humvee, it’s like jumping into a Cadillac,” said Yocum. “It’s a smart vehicle, very smart.”

Warminksi added other assets of the JLTV included vehicle reliability, functionality and crew survivability.

Yocum said they get new Soldiers in the classes that are skeptical as to whether they are going to like the JLTV or not.

“I can tell you this,” Yocum said. “By the time they leave here, they're sold. They love this vehicle.”