Harley helps armed forces
Members of military offered free riding classes
Harley-davidson Inc. says it’s offering free Riding Academy motorcycle classes to current and former members of the U.S. military.
The offer, aimed at new motorcyclists, begins on Armed Forces Day, May 16, and runs through Sept. 13. There’s an extension available for military personnel deployed outside the U.S. that’s good through 2016.
Riding Academy classes are taught through Harley-davidson dealerships. If the program is not available in a particular area, the company says it will issue a Harley-Davidson gift card for the cost of the certified motorcycle safety class.
“For us at Harley-davidson, this is our way to thank the millions of people who have courageously defended our country and everyone’s personal freedom to ride,” Christian Walters, managing director of U.S. sales and marketing at Harley, and a U.S. Army veteran, said in a statement.
Harley partnered with U.S. Army veteran and two-time Paralympian Heath Calhoun, and six motorcyclists who are also in the military. The announcement was expected Thursday morning from the flight deck of the USS Yorktown, in Char- leston, S.C.
Calhoun served in the 101st Airborne Division and was wounded in Iraq on Nov. 7, 2003. As a result of his combat injuries, both of his legs were amputated above the knee.
His injuries haven’t kept him off a motorcycle.
“As a veteran and a rider, I have found that nothing is more therapeutic than getting on my bike and taking a ride,” said Calhoun, a Wounded Warrior Project alumnus and owner of a Harley-davidson Tri Glide trike.
“Being on a motorcycle is drastically different than being in a car. . . . It gives me the opportunity to
just kind of forget what was going on with my life for a few miles,” Calhoun said.
Motorcycle safety has been an issue for the military. From 1999 to 2012, more than 1,100 members of the U.S. Armed Forces were killed in motorcycle accidents, according to the Department of Defense.
The highest number of accidents involved males ages 20 to 24.
“Compared to their older counterparts, younger service members more commonly take risks while driving (e.g. speeding, inconsistent use of seat belts, driving while intoxicated) or ride motorcycles,” according to the publication U.S. Medicine.