Here on Camp Speicher, I have been noticing an alarming trend in regard to physical training around post: running in the middle of the road.

I am not talking about during PT hours (some roads are closed during certain PT hours specifically for running). I’m talking about all times of the day.

Recently I had to pull over to the side of the road so that a “formation” (I use that term very loosely) could pass. This “formation” was made up of four Army soldiers all running shoulder to shoulder and taking up the entire two-lane road!

This is not an isolated occurrence. I often see soldiers running in the middle of the road with total disregard for traffic. I’ve had to tell soldiers who were running in the dark, with no reflective belt, in the middle of the road, that I could barely see them. They actually seemed surprised (and a little miffed) by this.

Are we going to have to wait for someone to get run over before the command does something about this?

Leland LavoieCamp Speicher, Iraq

Migrated