WELCOME June 14, 1999 Issue

To Our Readers

Russ Gerber

The buzz around the army base was that if the staff sergeant asked who in the company was able to drive, and you had a valid driver's license, you should volunteer. With a driving assignment you had nothing to worry about. Yeah, right.

Granted, it was not as though any of the soldiers could be put in harm's way on a military base neighboring Monterey, California. But what did we know? We were brand new draftees in our first days of basic training A driving assignment—as opposed to all-night guard duty followed by an early-morning lesson in grenade throwing—sounded like a smart choice. So a few of us stepped forward.

We were to drive a load of soldiers to and from their assigned posts. Simple enough. Everyone in my group piled into the back of the truck as I climbed into the driver's seat. That's when I noticed how much trouble I was in. The truck had a manual transmission. I had never driven anything with a manual transmission, let alone a two-and-a-half-ton truck filled with a dozen men. And I had thought my worries were over.

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