WE'RE HERE FOR YOU! -- Team safety is the only way to fight back Published March 21, 2007 By Torch Marketing Division Torch Magazine RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, TEXAS -- "We must all hang together, or assuredly, we shall all hang separately." -- Benjamin Franklin Throughout military history, it's the armies that came together as a cohesive team that enjoyed the most victories. The lesson conveyed also applies to team safety. The Air Education and Training Command Safety Directorate is a team dedicated to serving you. Last issue you met Col. John Blumentritt, the new director of safety. He brings with him more than 3,000 flying hours, four master's degrees and a vast and varied 22-year Air Force career, including nearly a decade in safety. But his experience just begins to tell the story of the AETC safety team. Together, the team of professionals who make up the AETC Safety Directorate has nearly 250 years of experience in ground, weapons and flight safety. They've flown more than 30,000 hours in over 60 different airframes. They've been involved in some 15,000 mishap investigations, ranging from drunken driving and motorcycle deaths to gunshot wounds and aircraft crashes. The directorate, armed with this immense experience, exists solely to serve your safety needs. But even with all of those years of experience, the directorate needs you to make safety work. A fatal car accident, a serious sports injury or an electrical burn may negate a combat sortie or negatively affect the mission in countless other ways. That's why a successful mishap prevention and risk management program begins with each and every one of us. If we damage a critical piece of equipment, we lose capability. If we become injured, or even leave work because of an injured family member, our absence renders us mission ineffective. Colonel Blumentritt's safety policy is direct and simple: Fight back! Consequently, the team of professionals in the AETC Safety Directorate is committed to helping you achieve a safer lifestyle. Nevertheless, a strong command safety program is valueless without your support. Therefore, together as a team, we must be proactive in risk management to fight back and, ultimately, save valuable equipment and lives.