AMC commander: 'Be Your Own Safety Manager,' safety awareness are must mindsets during 101 Critical Days

  • Published
  • By Roger Drinnon
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Personal responsibility, traffic safety awareness and a "wingman" attitude are the key tenets during the 101 Critical Days of Summer, according to Gen. Arthur Lichte, commander of Air Mobility Command.

AMC's safety campaign for this season, which runs May 24 through Sept. 2, is themed "Be Your Own Safety Manager."

The 60th Air Mobility Wing will launch the season May 22 with a Fun Run and Safety Day. A series of safety demonstrations to raise awareness will follow a 2.5-mile run from 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Fitness Center track. The uniform of the day will be any combination of physical training gear, but hats and headphones are not allowed. Guidons are required.

Each group is responsible for providing six road guards and one physical training leader for this event. Contact Capt. Todd Stinchfield before May 16 so individuals can be briefed on their duties for the Fun Run.

Travis and AMC's efforts support the Air Force-wide campaign, which runs annually to counter the increase in fatalities and mishaps during the summer months. The campaign attempts to increase personal awareness of safety risks and thereby reduce the number of summer fatalities and mishaps.

"As an Air Force, we continue to lose more Airmen in traffic accidents than we do conducting operations around the globe," General Lichte said. "In response to last year's Air Force fatality statistics, our focus during this year's 101 Critical Days of Summer will be traffic and vehicle safety."

The general said Air Force-wide 14 of 19 Air Force fatalities last season were from traffic- or vehicle-related accidents, and six of those fatalities involved motorcycles - primarily sport bikes.

AMC safety officials say traffic safety awareness includes "human factors" such as avoiding distractions, driving courteously and defensively, and being alert to pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, mopeds and other forms of transportation on the road while driving. Obeying traffic laws and wearing safety belts are other important factors.

"Traffic safety involves a shared responsibility on a variety of issues," said Johnny Wood, AMC chief of ground safety. "Much more than following the speed limit, traffic safety includes attention to a variety of topics and settings and obeying laws on the highways."

The Air Force's vehicle-related fatalities in 2007 could have been avoided, General Lichte said.

"The causes of all of last year's traffic fatalities were preventable," he said. "The common factors were poor decision-making, excessive speed, drinking and driving, or a failure to use seatbelts. In each case, the driver either failed to evaluate the risks associated with his or her actions, or his or her wingman failed to intervene."

General Lichte said among the command's safety initiatives is a recently-developed Sport Bike Training Course for Airmen, which is designed to prevent sport bike accidents by increasing an understanding of the vehicles' unique handling characteristics. The general emphasized that while safety courses help prevent accidents, a wingman attitude ensures mobility Airmen take care of one another and avoid putting themselves at risk.

"Providing great safety courses and adopting a safety mindset is only half the battle," he said. "The other half depends on all of us looking out for each other. So, 'Be(ing) Your Own Safety Manager' is more than just looking out for yourself - it's also about being a trusted wingman to those around you."

60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs contributed to this report.