‘I KILLED MY BEST FRIEND’S SISTER’

Senior Airman Caleb Zody rolled his vehicle three times while texting and driving. (Photo by Airman 1st Class Brittany Chase)

‘I KILLED MY BEST FRIEND’S SISTER’

Airman Jacqlyn Weir was wearing a seat belt and survived the crash. (Courtesy photo)

GIRL ON FIRE!

When rust particles in a valve caused a spark that ignited a flash fire in a 100 percent oxygen environment, Luke didn’t escape unscathed. This picture, taken shortly after the mishap, shows where the fire melted the skin on her face and neck. (Courtesy photo)

GIRL ON FIRE!

Long before the release of the hit song by Alicia Keys and the Hunger Games movie that further popularized the phrase, Staff Sgt. Erica Luke was the ‘Girl on Fire’ … literally (Photo by Tech. Sgt. Samuel Bendet / composite by Sammie W. King)

GIRL ON FIRE!

Luke proved to be resilient despite her agonizing burns. She suffered second-degree burns to her torso just above the left armpit, the left and front of her neck, the left side of her face and ear, as well as to her left arm and both hands. (Courtesy photo)

Trending up gets THUMBS DOWN

Trending up gets THUMBS DOWN when it comes to Severing Fingers (Composite by Tech. Sgt. Samuel Bendet and David M. Stack)

HOME FIELD DISADVANTAGE

At-fault vehicle accidents for military members within the first six months of returning from deployment increased 13 percent overall, according to the USAA study. (Composite by David M. Stack).

HOME FIELD DISADVANTAGE

Deployed military members show “an appreciable increase” in at-fault accidents upon return to their home stations, according to a study conducted by the United Services Automobile Association, better known as USAA. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Adrian Cadiz).

CRYSTAL CLEAR

She smashed her head through the driver’s side window when she totaled the Dodge Neon she was driving during an ice storm. But Salierno survived to spend Christmas with her mom, Malinda Johnson, who is in remission from leukemia. (Photo courtesy of Salierno family).

STANDING TALL

Miller doesn’t feel sorry for herself and doesn’t make excuses. “I will never use my disability as an excuse for failure, and I won’t spend my life hating the guy who did this to me. That would cripple me more than any physical disabilities ever could.” (Photo by Tech. Sgt. Samuel Bendet)

Standing Tall

Practice isn’t over at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, where Miller and her Paralympic teammates practice. Miller and her teammates hit the gym more than fives days a week in preparation for the 2012 Paralympic games in London. (Photo by Tech. Sgt. Samuel Bendet)

Standing Tall

Happy New Year? As the millennium ball dropped Jan. 1, 2000, Miller recovered from a collapsed lung, multiple broken bones, a crushed pelvis, a hole in her intestine, and a double leg amputation after a drunk driver crashed into her. (Courtesy Photo)

Bad Aim

Knowing how to handle your weapon is only one skill needed when going on a hunt. (Photo by Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen)

TROUBLED WATERS

Loida says she still has nightmares about the day her grandson drowned. She said there are triggers that bring both happy memories and dark ones. She often visits his grave site. “If I could trade places with him, I would,” she said. (Photo by Tech. Sgt. Samuel Bendet)

TROUBLED WATERS

Proud grandparents Dave and Loida hold Jerry and Myya when they were just toddlers. (Courtesy Photo)

TROUBLED WATERS

Jerry, as a pre-teen, shares a happy moment with his mom, Melanie, and his sister, Myya, who was with him at the lake. (Courtesy Photo)

A TEXT TO DIE FOR...

Young woman slams into tractor-trailer while texting love notes to boyfriend. (Photo by Tech. Sgt. Samuel Bendet)

‘EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT FLYING’

Lt. Col. Gordon P. Kimpel is a T-38C Talon instructor pilot with the 50th Flying Training Squadron at Columbus AFB, Miss. At 59, he is the Air Force’s oldest active-duty instructor pilot after being recalled as part of the Retired Rated Officer Recall Program. He has more than 3,500 flying hours in the F-15 and F-4 and 600 hours in the T-38. He graduated from undergraduate pilot training at Vance AFB, Okla., in December 1976 and is also a retired Delta Air Lines captain with more than 8,000 commercial flying hours with type ratings in the B-737, B-757, B-767, B-777 and MD-11. (Courtesy photo)

‘WHAT GOES TDY, STAYS TDY’

Although college students commonly binge drink, 70 percent of binge drinking episodes involve adults age 26 years and older, according to a recent national survey. (Photo by Airman 1st Class Allen Stokes)

‘WHAT GOES TDY, STAYS TDY’

Spring break has long been known as a peak time for young binge drinkers, but does the Air Force unwittingly have its own form of ‘party time’? (Photo by Airman 1st Class Allen Stokes)

NO CLOWNING AROUND

The 1994 B-52 crash at Fairchild AFB, Wash., has become one of the more infamous cases of flight discipline, which ultimately killed all four aircrew members in the aircraft. (Air Force file photo)

NO CLOWNING AROUND

Two T-6 Texan II pilots from Moody AFB, Ga., died when they crashed their plane on takeoff. The mishap investigation revealed flight discipline issues as the main contributor to the tragedy. The pilots failed to maintain a minimum safe air speed and bank angle, which resulted in an accelerated stall and complete loss of control of the training aircraft. (Photo by Tech. Sgt. Matthew Hannen)

ALTERNATE ENDINGS

ALTERNATE ENDINGS: Doubling up increases the chance of injury, as limbs can get tangled and heads can slam together. (Photo by Tech. Sgt. Samuel Bendet)

ALTERNATE ENDINGS

ALTERNATE ENDINGS: Going out of control and hitting objects are the main contributors to sledding injuries. (Photo by Tech. Sgt. Samuel Bendet)