"How to"....how to roll a 7-11, New Jersey style.

After we learned how to jam needles into different body parts, treat sucking chest wounds and severe arterial bleeding...they let us drive cars. High Threat driving they called it. It was awesome! We were taught how to get out of a car or SUV that was disabled in an ambush, how to rescue your buddies that just got ambushed and to cover each others movements getting away. Then we actually got to drive...

We drove cop cars (retired police interceptors) and Dodge Durango's. There were several different drills, slalom, 90 degree turns at max speed, lane avoidance and K turns....and maybe occasionally, a wicked burnout! So between entertaining each other with smoke shows and replacing divots (the orange cones that were knocked over...that was other people not ME, Rod sometimes though) we learned some stuff. At the end we put it all together.

The last exercise starts with ramming a car, pushing your buddies' disabled car through a lane change, then bailing out under paint ball fire into another car and speeding off through a slalom into another engagement (us getting shot at) and bailing into another car and speeding to another set of cone drills....all the while being chased by instructors in another car with their horn blaring and paint balls flying, to stress us...it was flippin' awesome!!!

Basically...we SO learned how to knock over a 7-11! Or a liquor store?!  Just kidding...that makes is sound like we didn't take it seriously...but seriously, we did! Totally!

This the view from inside the car...Dona in the slalom, before the camera flew out of my hand. It was violent...this was after she got special instruction from Jack the cute instructor.

Rod piloting the cop car...he pretty much owned the driving exercises, he was the best in class. And he didn't break any steering wheels off, so that was good. But I'm pretty sure he used up more rubber than the rest of us. 

This is 'driver down'...the only drill that an instructor rode with us. ('cept for when Dona got remedial training from Jack the cute intructor)...the instructor hammers the gas up to 40mph then simulates getting shot and the passenger has to jump over and take control. And that means flooring it and driving the car through the cones for whatever drill it was. That's Dona, all 115 lbs or so 'smashing' the instructor out of the way. I'm pretty sure it must have felt different for the instructor when Rod did the same thing... by about another 140lbs or so. The instructors were excellent.  

This is 'contact left'...and Jesse with his game face on. He said make sure not to forget beer, Stella Artois...I know seriously, seems like he'd want us to steal a tougher beer. And besides...I'm pretty sure you're not going to find that at 7-11.

 

This is Mai Tai...he's just reliving the previous night at the O Club in his mind...and the 'tree dance' he busted out with the big boned girls. He and Jesse were, uh....out weighed 7 to 1. The two of them danced with 11 well fed and 1 skinny girl...it was spectacular.

This is the kinder gentler Air Force... and the boss, he says pink is the new Army green. "How YOU doin', can I see your gun?"  

This is recovery from a rescue drill....and 8 people crammed into a Durango. Rod bailing out, it was tight fit with gun and body armor.

Oh yeah...we got to shoot AK-47's. You want the AK for rollin' the 7-11... and then all you need is a case of hand grenades. 

The training was superb. And definitely the highlight of the trip to New Jersey.  And I can speak for Rod and the rest of the guys including Dona, we hope to never to back to New Jersey...land of Dunkin Donuts on ever single corner.

Not sure why cars even come with left turn signals...you can NEVER turn left when you need to.  It's awesome...and only adds another 17 minutes to your 15 minute drive to dinner. Three rights will eventually make a left. Brilliant!