Many years ago when current Brigade member Tom Houlton was President of the Los Alamos Mobile Emergency Services Association (LAMESA) they acquired an ATV. Zia Credit Union had repossessed the vehicle and was going to auction it off. Tom managed to get Zia Credit Union to donate the ATV to LAMESA. When, in 2001, LAMESA folded Tom joined the Brigade and brought the ATV, along with other equipment, with him. The previous owner had hid the vehicle in the Jemez River so significant effort was needed to get it running again.
Flash forward to the present – our SAR Team Leader Nathan along with member Matt Handley have completed some much needed maintenance and added all new LED lighting. Nathan decides the ATV is mission ready and schedules a training for those interested in learning to ride it. June 16th 2021 eleven Brigade members gathered at the American Springs road turn off for a tailgate dinner and lessons.
A handful of Brigade members have significant experience with ATV’s and/or motorcycles and just needed to learn the idiosyncrasies of this particular machine. Others have no experience with this type of vehicle and receive more detailed instruction. Regardless, everyone learned something and we all had fun bombing around the forest roads. Now all we have to do is get new tires on and register the old Brigade generator trailer and we will have something to tow the ATV. Any Brigade member with a decent size truck or SUV will be able to deploy it to missions.