MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif -- The station’s safety office is currently seeking motorcyclist to become motorcycle coaches for the station’s motorcycle safety program.
The safety department is looking for willing service members to share their time to become motorcycle coaches for the station’s basic and experienced riders course here.
Service members who are interested must go through the ERC.
They must also be willing to take time and teach motorcycle riders, explained Lt. Col. Dan Goodwin, the director of safety and standardization here.
Any service member who completes the instructors’ course will receive certification by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation as an instructor and can instruct in California and possibly other states, explained Matthew McMullen, a motorcycle safety program instructor here.
The course teaches Marines how to teach riders the correct way to execute proper riding techniques, according to McMullen.
“Coaches have to be able to demonstrate the proper way to do something perfectly,” said McMullen. “The purpose of that is to get riders in the mind set that it is not okay to cut corners when it comes to motorcycles.”
The safety office is organizing a course to certify coaches. If enough people show interest, trainers from the MSF will come to the station and certify coaches, explained McMullen.
However, the safety office needs at least 10 people to commit to the instructors course.
“The biggest issue we run into with the coaches we have now is they are mostly senior staff NCOs who are TAD or away for long periods of time,” said Goodwin. “When I lose coaches, we can’t put as many students as we’d like to and those students sometimes go somewhere else and get certified.”
The courses offered here accommodate 36 students per coach in the classroom, according to McMullen.
However, one coach can only supervise six riders who practice on the motorcycle riding course, which is located across from the Bob Hope Theatre here, added McMullen.
Because of the lack of coaches, the safety office can’t certify as many motorcycle riders.
Goodwin also explained he needs the commanding officers of the squadrons to understand how important it is to the program that they allow their service member to come out at least three days out of the month to certify motorcycle riders.
For more information on becoming an instructor or information on courses offered here, contact Matthew McMullen at 858-577-1358.