US ANG Safety Culture
ANG Chiefs of Safety,
Do you think the enemy cares if our Airmen die in battle, on the highway, at
the bottom of a lake, or by their own hand? The end result is the same. We
lose a brother or sister Warfighter, and the enemy gains a keen advantage in
the Global War on Terror.
As we enter this statistically higher risk period between Memorial Day and
Labor Day, take this opportunity to consider hazards outside the formal
lanes of safety… Hazards like bad decision-making, preventable human
error, substance/alcohol abuse, depression, poor nutrition and fitness,
fatigue, and lack of self-discipline. All of these hazards and others like
them are underlying human factors killing our Airmen. Consider these
additional challenges:
1. Evaluate the specific risks to YOUR people, performing YOUR missions,
operating YOUR equipment, living and working in YOUR communities… and then
tailor YOUR programs accordingly. Most of our Airmen fatalities occur
outside the gates. Don’t be satisfied with a status quo rehash of last
year’s efforts. Take ownership and act.
2. Attack the tough issues and take a Wingman with you. Human issues kill
our Guardsmen on and off duty. People generally don’t like to talk about
these things. But we must. Our NGB staff put together some assessment and
mitigation tools to help you do just that, collected on www.RealBase.org
, which we’ll update throughout the summer.
3. Don’t tolerate turf-fighting. We can only win if we all participate and
help each other, sometimes ignoring “lanes” and “rice bowls”. Be the chief
marketer and chief negotiator for safety and risk mitigation. Make it their
idea. It is reported that President Reagan had a sign on his Oval Office
desk that said, “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go
if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”
4. Lead by example in promoting a Wingman Culture throughout the ANG. Talk
to your folks about how to be a good Wingman and how to practice good
personal risk assessment. Show them through your work and your example.
Reward those who call “Knock It Off”, whether in the air, on the flightline,
at the Security Forces shack, or out in the civilian community.
Finally, don’t go it alone. Engage the chaplains, the flight docs, the
maintainers, the engineers, the cops, the families, the Army Guard (for
goodness sake!) and the local community. Turn your Wingman Culture into a
1000-person Red Flag gorilla package and prosecute this fight. Your life,
and your Wingman’s life, literally depend on it.
