In terms of training challenges, he observed, “Sometimes it’s a little bit of a challenge to get these guys to drive a little more conservatively. One of the reasons they have the job they have is because they are kind of special people to begin with. And many of them ‘want to go fast’ from the beginning. In fact, everybody wants to go really fast. But what we try to teach in our training is that you can go fast, but do it because you have the skill set to go fast – not just because you can. We teach that if you have all the skills for operating then the speed comes by itself. And you’re safe at the same time. So that’s our biggest challenge: Sometimes you have to go slow to go fast.”

Haines said that the operator course starts with driving basics, “Because sometimes we have students that have never operated any vehicle off-road – whether it’s a motorcycle, ATV, or anything else. So we generally have to start out with some basic skill sets: how to read the desert terrain; when to use four-wheel drive or two-wheel drive; and when to use high range or low range. Most importantly, we teach them about knowing the vehicle capabilities so they won’t get themselves into a position that they can’t get out of. So if you come up to a big rocky hillside you would be able to evaluate whether or not it was something that your vehicle could do.

“We take them through the training with the vehicles both weighted and unweighted,” he said. “We do a lot of driving at night. With night vision, things appear a lot differently and you don’t have the depth perception you would have during the day. We also teach things like winching and rock crawling.

“So it’s all just about learning the vehicle, knowing what it can do, and having seat time to where you can react to any situation,” he said.

As an example of the “rock crawling knowledge” underlying the LTATV training, Haines noted, “A few years back we went with a couple of the master chiefs and took five of these [LTATVs] over the ‘Rubicon Trail’ [through the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California’s Eldorado National Forest] and made it in two days with no failures. And that’s a tough deal with wheels that are this small. But we did it to show that it could be done and that the vehicles would survive a challenge like that.”

Completely separate from the training aspects of his business, Haines has also used community feedback in the development of a series of specialized hardware kits for modifying the platforms to tactical configuration.

“These are options and accessories that they have fitted onto the vehicles by different contractors,” he said. “But those are installed under another contract where a contractor gets the basic vehicle, then gets kits from me, tires from somewhere else, and something else from someone else, and then assembles the vehicle.”

Examples of the LTATV accessories developed by Haines include: skid plates, quick-release fuel can mounts, exhaust shields, front bumpers, suspension modifications, storage shelf kits, GPS accessory crossbars, and spare wheel carriers.

“The tire rack system is probably our most popular kit,” he said. “Actually at this point it is a requirement that they have to have it on the vehicle.”

One recent hardware activity involved the development of a new off-road trailer design.

“They said, ‘It would be neat if we had a trailer.’ So I’ve been working on it for about eight months,” Haines said.

“We have delivered two of them to Naval Special Warfare already,” he noted. “These are full suspension trailers for the LTATVs. They have fold-down sides that use the same Teryx wheels as the LTATV. It’s got an adjustable tongue and we’ve used that to test the trailer behind a Toyota truck – because they use a lot of those now. And this will go behind one of those as well.

“We were trying to make it very strong and very light at the same time,” he added. “So most of the undercarriage is all carbon steel and everything above that is all aluminum for weight savings. For payload, it can carry a little over 500 pounds when it’s being towed by an LTATV, and if you pull it with a truck you can go up to 750 or 800 pounds. You could also do that behind the LTATV, but it would be challenged by the power and the brakes.”

Haines said that the user community is currently performing an evaluation on the two prototype trailers.

One possible glimpse into the future of the LTATV program could be seen in the presence of a new four-seat ATV model in Haines’ workshop.

Characterizing it as one possibility being explored by some elements in the special operations community, he observed, “It’s got 15 percent more power, a little bit bigger throttle bodies on the injection, and a little different engine management. But this thing goes pretty good, and with a longer wheelbase it has a little bit more stability [than the LTATV]. I’ve only had this thing about two weeks – but I’m taking it out with one of ‘The Team Guys’ on Friday.

“We really take our training role very seriously,” Haines concluded. “It’s much more than a job to me. I’m an ex-Navy guy myself. I wasn’t in special operations but I really admire the commitment these people have. They make it possible for all of us to do what we do every day. Whether most of our population knows it or not, these guys are keeping the bad guys on the other side.”

This article was first published in The Year in Special Operations: 2012-2013 Edition.