Soldiers Returning from War Zones Are Dying on Motorcycles

By Linda Orlando

According to safety records, hundreds of soldiers have been killed or injured in motorcycle accidents since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and surprisingly, there have been more deaths by motorcycle than combat deaths. Almost 350 soldiers have been killed on motorcycles in that time, compared to 259 killed while serving in Afghanistan. Nearly 1,000 more troops have been injured while riding motorcycles.

Military officials in North Carolina say that the deaths are usually the end result of boredom, bonus combat pay, and the rush of adrenalin soldiers have to burn off after they return from the war. Troops say that the motorcycles help to fill the adrenalin void left behind when they exited the war zones and came home. "Riders who have been in accidents have told us that it's the legal crack cocaine," said J.T. Coleman, a civilian spokesman for the Army's Combat Readiness Center in Fort Rucker, Ala., an office that records accidents among soldiers. "They say it gives them the same adrenaline rush they get driving their tank through Baghdad or whatever."

In October, five Marines from Camp Lejeune were involved in serious motorcycle crashes. Four of the soldiers had returned from combat in Iraq’s deadly Anbar Province just a few weeks earlier. Three of them were killed and another lost a leg. "When the doctor told me that he was dead, I told him that wasn't acceptable, it just wasn't acceptable," said Andrea Strickland, 22, the widow of Mark Strickland, 24, one of the Marines killed on a bike. "I said, 'He just got back from a war zone, and you're going to tell me that he died doing something he loved?' "

Lt. Gen. James Amos, commander of the Marine Expeditionary Force based in Camp Lejeune, called the Marines’ deaths a "cold shot to the heart," and ordered a crackdown on motorcycle carelessness. In November normal base operations were called to a halt to focus on motorcycle safety and safety in general. Camp Lejeune added safety programs and re-emphasized existing ones, including a mentor program created by Amos that is now being considered as a model for the entire Marine Corps.

The Army has also seen a rise in off-duty motorcycle deaths, with more than 40 during the past year. The Army chief of staff issued a memo in December that called on experienced riders to mentor beginning riders in the hope of curbing the escalating accident rates. According to a report commissioned by the Pentagon and another commissioned by Congressional Democrats, the military is already challenged with maintaining a domestic force that has been stretched by repeated deployments overseas.

Maj. Gen Robert Dickerson, Jr., who oversees most of the East Coast facilities of the Marine Corps, visited motorcycle dealers in the areas around bases and asked them to hand out $100 vouchers to Marine customers for safety classes. The vouchers are funded by the Marine Corps. Dickerson says that the Marines always need soldiers who are risk-takers, but there is a necessary line between courage and recklessness. "I’ve owned three motorcycles, and they’re a lot of fun, but you’ve got to be careful," Dickerson said.