Courtesy Photo | Brig. Gen. William Forrester Jr., the commanding general of the U.S. Army Combat...... read more read more
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By Spc. Nathan Hoskins
1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Safety, a word echoed throughout the ranks of the 1st Air Cavalry "Warrior" Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division – but why?
Safety has to be practiced at all times no matter what you are doing, said Boulder, Colo., native Chief Warrant Officer Alan Koch, 1st ACB's Safety Officer.
This point was emphasized with a recent visit from the Brig. Gen. William Forrester Jr., the director of Army Safety and commanding general of the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center
Forrester stressed the ability of every Soldier to be a safety officer.
"The way I look at it is you all have one safety officer in this formation. That isn't enough to make sure that all of us [are] reminded about what's important," he said.
Putting the responsibility of safety on every Soldier reinforces the battle buddy system – a system that the Army has stressed for years.
"Take ownership of not just your own actions, but of the actions of your teammate. ... The power is in you guys to protect [your] own, because if you don't, then you're going to be operating with less than which you came with," said Forrester.
Along with keeping the buddy system at the forefront of the Soldiers minds, Forrester also redefined "fallen comrade."
"A fallen comrade might not be someone that's just in a hot [landing zone], but someone who's had too much to drink, someone who's tired, someone who's sick, someone who's been sexually assaulted ...," he said to a group of Soldiers.
"We've got to look at each other and [ask,] 'Are you okay? Are you alright?' To think we can't wrap our arms around them and protect them from doing something stupid when they're down is [foolish,]" said Forrester.
"If an accident happens, usually somebody in the unit knew that Soldier's behavior could lead to an accident ...and so many times we don't intervene just because he's a good guy," he said.
While talking to the troops about safety practices that have been around for some time, Forrester also brought a new concept to the Soldiers – their families.
Forrester suggested that units should call the family of the Soldier heading home and tell them to watch out for them because they are an integral part of the mission.
Koch agrees, "Let's say my mom called me the day I got home from leave and said, 'Alan, you be careful now. Don't go crazy just because you're home on leave.' That's interesting, that would be a great idea."
Koch has found that using the Composite Risk Management process, a continual process that helps mitigate or eliminate dangers, is something every Warrior should be using as a tool to stay safe.
"The CRM process should be the way you think about things – whether you're going on a date or going flying. You should think about it," said Koch.
Soldiers can find information about the CRM process and a 40 minute course online at https://crc.army.mil/home/, said Koch.
Whether flying the skies over Baghdad, or working on a helicopter in the hanger, safety is a high priority for the warriors, he said. But even the best can slip sometimes. That is why consistently looking out for one another and taking that responsibility to be a safety officer is necessary in keeping Soldiers alive and well on the battlefield.
| Date Taken: | 03.15.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 03.15.2007 11:09 |
| Story ID: | 9452 |
| Location: | TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 95 |
| Downloads: | 57 |
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