PREVENTION AND RESILIENCY

  • Published
  • By Gen. Edward A. Rice Jr.
  • Commander, Air Education and Training Command
AIR EDUCATION AND TRAINING COMMAND (AETC) --  The summer of 2010 will go down as one of the best ever in regard to safety and mishap prevention in Air Education and Training Command. It's the first summer in our history that not a single active-duty military member lost his or her life because of a preventable mishap, whether on or off duty. This is truly an outstanding accomplishment, and I applaud each of you for coming together to reach such a lofty goal.

But I also want to caution you that despite this record, AETC did not finish the summer unscathed, as two of our Airmen took their own lives. Each was a tragic event and represents an alarming trend of suicides in our military. To repeat our successes of last year and continue to address suicide prevention, we will again use our Critical Days of Summer campaign to highlight safety and risk management to prevent mishaps and continue our focus on resiliency.

Proper planning and decision making is key to mishap prevention. Each of us should use risk management tools to proactively plan operations, sorties, trips and vacations. As the saying goes -- "when you fail to plan, you plan to fail." However, when individual safety is at risk, the failure to plan is not a viable option.

As supervisors and leaders, we can look at trend data to help focus on risk areas and avoid common or frequent mishaps.

What does the data tell us?

Statistics show that our younger and less experienced Airmen are most likely to be the victim of safety-related mishaps. Furthermore, alcohol will be involved, the accident will occur at night, excessive speeds will be evident, and the victim will not be wearing personal protective equipment, such as a seat belt or helmet.

Our life experiences serve as great instructions that help inform our decision making, but experience comes with age. Our younger generation must rely on training and in some instances, peer experiences.

To make our training effective, I challenge supervisors and leaders to develop safety training that reaches our Airmen, resonates and leaves a "mark" on our Airmen's decision process. While we cannot eliminate bad judgment in every instance, last summer's success demonstrated that a concerted effort and a robust wingman culture can keep mishaps at 
a minimum.

That said, risk factors such as motorcycle use, alcohol, personal protective gear and fatigue need to be high on our list of important topics to discuss as these critical days of summer approach.

Gen. Philip Breedlove, the Air Force's vice chief of staff, has decreed that 2011 is the "Year of Motorcycle Safety." Why? There has been a 150-percent increase in motorcycle accidents since January. Five Airmen have lost their lives, and one Airman suffered permanent total disability. Each loss was one too many.

In addition to safety measures, we must continue to focus on our resiliency. Resiliency is a key to help mitigate daily stressors and the ever-changing demands in our lives. Each of us have demonstrated resiliency during our careers. For our military, the ability to complete our various accession and training programs required resiliency. These programs include heavy stressors to ensure members joining our Air Force are able to cope with future challenges. Our civilians, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with us, also experience stress entering the Air Force. And more importantly, they experience many of the same life events and daily stressors that our military members encounter.

When these demands, coupled with those in one's personal life, become too much, Airmen need to reach out to the various resources available to them. It is clear that some are reluctant to do so. As wingmen, we must be looking for the signs of trouble and engage our fellow Airmen early. Our wingman culture requires us to be on the lookout for signs that our fellow Airmen are having trouble coping. There is nothing we do in this command that can't be put aside so we can assist our fellow Airmen.

Individually we must also take steps to increase our resiliency. The ability to recover and grow in the face of the stressors associated with serving our great nation is vital. Each of us copes with our personal stressors differently. In dealing with stress, some turn to spiritual avenues, others hit the gym, and others might bury their problems.

I ask you to examine how you deal with stress and problems. Is it healthy and effective? If the answer is no, take time to speak with a chaplain, mentor, supervisor and/or health professional.

While we kick off the Critical Days of Summer safety campaign, don't forget to enjoy the many opportunities summer offers. Attend your family reunions, take that family vacation, or take some personal time to recharge your batteries. We all need time away from our stressors and the opportunity to reexamine our priorities. But, as you plan your trips, as well as your daily activities, remember that safety should always be a consideration.