U.S. troops and members of the Okinawa American Legion, Post OK28, cruise down Route 58 on their motorcycles during a safety ride in Onna village, Okinawa, Feb. 20, 2025. (Brian McElhiney/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Tom Quinn and Matt Nevins laugh when they recall particularly close calls they’ve experienced while riding their motorcycles on Okinawa.
The two veterans expect a near miss every time they mount their Harley-Davidsons, they told Stars and Stripes on Feb. 6 at Naval Hospital Okinawa. They were gathered for a safety brief for a 100-mile ride they took Thursday with a group of vets and active-duty sailors and Marines.
Three U.S. service members died last year in motorcycle accidents on Okinawa, an unusually high number, said Navy Lt. Keegan Marcantel, a physical therapist who organized the ride to bring more attention to motorcycle safety.
“Everybody’s got a million close-call stories,” he said. “The skilled riders have trained it enough to negotiate those incidents much more quickly, sometimes without really thinking about it too much.”
Nevins, an Air Force veteran and commander of Okinawa American Legion Post OK28, recalled a particularly harrowing close call recently involving a group of Legionnaire bikers.
“I think it was about like 12 of us — we get close to an intersection and then a car just decides to merge right into me,” he said.
Quinn interjected: “Less than inches away from his foot.”
Nevins continued: “And it’s just, like, what do you do at that point?”
U.S. troops and members of the Okinawa American Legion, Post OK28, cruise down Route 58 on their motorcycles during a safety ride in Onna village, Okinawa, Feb. 20, 2025. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)
Quinn and Nevins were among the 12 Legion bikers serving as mentors to the eight Marines and sailors who participated in the ride.
“I really think there should be more mentorship; I didn’t have a lot of it when I was learning how to ride a motorcycle as a young Marine,” Quinn said after the Feb. 6 brief.
The ride from the hospital to Kouri Island north of Motobu Peninsula and back covered about 100 miles on Okinawa’s heavily trafficked Route 58 and the Okinawa Expressway. Along the way, the group stopped twice for safety presentations from the Legionnaires.
Safety rides like this should be an annual event, said hospital safety manager Randell Stallings. The last hospital safety ride was in 2019, he told Stars and Stripes on Thursday.
Before the bikers roared away, Marcantel repeated his safety brief, ensuring that all riders had their status of forces agreement license, Motorcycle Safety Foundation card, insurance and registration, and proper attire — long-sleeve shirt, pants, full-fingered gloves, helmet and eye protection.
Riders then inspected their motorcycles, checking tires, controls, lights and electronics, oil and fluids, chassis and stands — a TCLOCS inspection.
U.S. troops and members of the Okinawa American Legion, Post OK28, prepare for a motorcylce safety ride at Camp Foster, Okinawa, Feb. 20, 2025. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)
The 20 bikes rumbled up Route 58 in three groups, riding in a double-column, staggered formation.
“You should be one second behind the person that you’re staggered from; two seconds behind the person that’s immediately in front of you,” Marcantel explained during his brief. “You don’t want your wheels to pair up because that doesn’t give them an out if they have to move over in the lane.”
Marine Cpl. Conrad Bagocius, of the 3rd Radio Battalion, has been riding on Okinawa for three months. He said he often travels with Legion riders, who are “very protective” and provide a great learning environment.
“The drivers out here are scary,” he said before the ride. “Too many just stop in the middle of the road halfway through pulling out or don’t even look, so I’ve had quite a few close calls. That’s really where it’s important to be a vigilant driver, in a car, as well, not just motorcycles.”
