Surviving the summer: Soldiers learn about safety

Photo By 1st Sgt. Justin A. Naylor | Staff Sgt. Evan Shiels, a Garrison, N.Y. native and a Bradley section sergeant with 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, demonstrates how to properly test seat belts in a Bradley during a safety day on Fort Hood, Texas, July 1.  

FORT HOOD, TX, UNITED STATES

07.01.2010

Story by Spc. Justin A. Naylor 

2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

FORT HOOD, Texas— Summer is a time for fun on the lake, motorcycle riding or just cruising in the car with the windows down. But without proper safety knowledge, this kind of fun can turn deadly.

To help make Soldiers aware of the risks they might face during the summer, leaders from 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, hosted a safety day on Fort Hood, Texas, July 1.

Soldiers were treated to presentations on different areas, including car inspections, boat safety, military vehicle safety, motorcycle operation and combat lifesaver skills.

“It’s fairly common knowledge that [the Army] loses more Soldiers to accidents and mishaps than to combat related incidents,” said Capt. Liam Kozma, a Gardiner, Maine, native and a company commander for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd STB. “The sad thing is that most of these mishaps are preventable.”

Soldiers sometimes get complacent and don’t think about the risks involved with what they are doing, and that is when accidents happen, explained Kozma.

Sponsors from throughout central Texas provided equipment for the safety day, including boats, cars and motorcycle equipment.

The sponsors and leaders from the brigade also helped inform Soldiers of any differences between safety equipment that the state requires and what the Department of Defense mandates.

“It was really educational,” said Spc. ReTasha Starks, a Shreveport, La., native and a human intelligence collector with 2nd STB.

Starks found the motorcycle briefing to be especially informative.

“I’ve never ridden a motorcycle before, so I got to learn a lot more about them,” she said. “I hope to get one someday.”

This safety day helped reinforce a lot of what commanders within the battalions tell their troops every week during safety briefs.

“Soldiers hear the same things every week,” said Kozma. “This is a great way to give them the information they’ve already heard in a new manner. It makes it more interesting.”

“When you do end of the week safety briefings, it almost feels like an afterthought,” he said. “For the chain-of-command to set aside a whole day for safety training shows they really care about it.”

“Hopefully this will help Soldiers think a little harder before they do something stupid,” joked Starks.

• Date Taken: 07.01.2010
• Date Posted: 07.01.2010 15:38
• Story ID: 52256
• Location: FORT HOOD, TX, US