Just a few weeks after completing the OSI's counter-terrorist driving course, the gunslingers that protected the 4-star wrangled a dozen slots in the German Polizei's driving course for security personnel. The MPs wanted all the slots for themselves but the Chief of Staff insisted that the senior VIP drivers needed to go, too. So three of us went along. The MP company commander was a cool fellow named Lon Walker. He later came back to Stuttgart as the Provost Marshall, and retired to become the Chief of Police in some little place in the middle of the USA. Naturally, he went along, too. So we went to the Polizei barracks in Stuttgart then followed the Green and Whites out to the same airfield we had been on with the OSI. But it was changed. The Germans had put in a polished asphalt section that had water sheeting over it, creating a ferocious skid-pad. They had set up about eight separate stations. Some of them we had done with the AF guys, some were brand -new. They included a high-speed lane change during full acceleration, the skid-pad, a big figure eight, a high-speed slalom, and of course, the J-turn and Bootleg turn. We had to report to an instructor at each station and learn the book solution to each challenge. We were informed that after we had passed on each station, we had to run the whole course at top speed, including each of the stations...twice. Once in the big-body Mercedes, a hopped-up 280 and again in the police version of the 911 Porsche! Now I know that in the USA we think of Mercedes and Porsches as high-end cars for the rich and famous. It kinda blows the minds of tourists when they get off the train and step out of the train station to a taxi stand with 10-15 Mercedes lined up with the lights on top and all. And think about it. If you have a freeway system with no speed limit...isn't a Porsche a natural?

Since we had been through the other course, some of the stations were a snap. The German instructors were really testy with us at the J-turn and Bootleg stations...they are very protective of their equipment and got hyper when we came out of the manuevers at full power, smokin' the back tires. They wanted us to come to a complete stop after the turn. But I bet you if someone was shooting at them, they wouldn't be too concerned about the spinning tires! I got some conversations started at those stations.

The skid-pad was a hoot. They had set up a wall of big blocks at the end of the pad. You had to power into the pad then keep control and not skid and stop before you hit the wall. Keep in mind that this was before any of us had heard of ABS. The first MP through that station skidded into the wall and smashed it down...it was all foam blocks.

We spent all day rotating through the different stations, going through the ones we didn't do so well until we did. The slalom was a challenge. The Merc handled pretty well but I think my GTO would have done it better. The figure eight was a pure joy.

Now I have to admit something to you. Until that training episode, I had always thought of Porsche as a high-dollar, glorified VW. I had been passed by many of them on the autobahn; I knew they were fast, but I had been passed by VWs, too. I received an epiphany during those two days at Heimsheim: Porsches are HOT! I couldn't believe the power and handling. On the afternoon of the second day we began testing. We started from a dead stop; the first station was a double lane change under full acceleration, then a straight-away to the skid-pad. After that there were the turns and some other stations, each separated by enough space to get up to 140 kph between them. The next to the last station was the high-speed slalom, and then you ended up at the figure eight. We had to do the whole course in both cars. I went through it in the Merc first. That was a real advantage for me. It was like a recon. Running the course all together was a lot different than going from station to station. CPT Walker went in the Porsche first. He had the best time in the first go-round; I was second. This really upset some of the gunslingers. When I lined up for my second round, in the Porsche, I was ready. I got out with a little wheel hop and was in third gear at the lane change and got through it without any let-up. The Porsche was amazing; the tachometer wound up as fast in fourth gear as it did in first. I didn't lose any points on the skid-pad, held tight turns in the 180 degree manuevers and by the time I was at the slalom I felt like the Porsche was part of me. In the figure eight I pushed the little autobahn cruiser to the limit; the front end was dipped down and the front wheels were chirping and chattering. I came out of the figure eight flying and didn't want to stop. I passed the finish line and kept going, not far, but far enough to raise more conversations with the German cops. CPT Walker got a respectable time in the Merc but nowhere near enough to stay in first place. I don't remember by how much ( it wasn't a lot) but I beat him, probably by a fraction of a second. That really didn't set well with him. But if you happen to read this at any time, Lon, Thanks. It was one of the best times I ever had.  And I LOVE the certificate!!!