USACRC commander assesses range safety at training center in Ukraine

Photo By Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Tarr | Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Farnsworth, Director of Army safety and Commanding General of U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center speaks with Lt. Gen. Pavlo Tkachuk, commander of the Land Forces Academy at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center, Oct. 13. Farnsworth arrived at the IPSC to conduct safety assessments of the training area that is utilized by the JMTG-U. JMTG-U’s mission is part of ongoing efforts to contribute to Ukraine's long-term military reform and professionalism and to help improve the country's internal defense capabilities and training capacity. (Photo by Army Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Tarr)  

YAVORIV, UKRAINE

10.14.2016

Story by Staff Sgt. Elizabeth Tarr 

U.S. Army Europe and Africa     

YAVORIV, Ukraine— Risk management is the Army’s primary decision-making process to identify hazards, reduce risk and prevent accidents on and off the battlefield.

Risk management and prevention was the goal for Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Farnsworth, Director of Army safety and Commanding General of U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center when he and his team arrived at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center, Oct. 13. His team came to the IPSC to conduct safety assessments of the training area that is utilized by the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine.

The U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center develops, maintains and evaluates Army safety policies and programs to communicate relevant risk management information to Army leaders for the preservation of Soldiers, civilians and family members.

“An accident by definition is preventable,” said Farnsworth. “Anything we can do to prevent unnecessary loss, whether it’s to U.S forces or our international partners, is important.”

U.S. Army Capt. Jason Ayres, of the California National Guard and officer in charge of range operations at JMTG-U assisted the safety team in accurately assessing the training area and showed the steps that have been taken to improve safety for Soldiers and civilians from the surrounding community.

One of the key factors in increasing the safety in the community was to make the civilian population aware of possible unexploded ordnances in the area. UXOs are explosive munitions (bombs, bullets, shells, grenades, land mines, naval mines, etc.) that did not explode when they were employed and still pose a risk of detonation.

“It’s important from time to time when you identify certain risks to have an independent look at those risks and identify areas of focus and ways to reduce the risk to the U.S. and international partners,” said Farnsworth.

To mitigate risk within the training area, 15 unexploded ordnance awareness and “do not enter” signs were strategically placed at access areas where there is noticeably high civilian traffic.

“It doesn’t seem like a lot but we have already seen positive feedback from the local villages,” said Ayres. “We’re not just increasing safety for the Soldiers but for any other civilian that comes onto the training area.”

Sgt. 1st Class Michael Deleon, assigned to 7th Army Training Command G3 Operations has been working to increase the safety at the IPSC since 2015.

“Over the last ten months, we have seen a decrease in local population incidents coming from hazards of the training area and that’s because of what they have been doing here with the sign projects,” he said.

As a way forward, the Ukrainian military will continue to improve range operations and procedures to minimize the risk to the troops while providing a realistic training environment for Ukrainian forces to face their important mission in this region, said Farnsworth.

JMTG-U’s mission is part of ongoing efforts to contribute to Ukraine's long-term military reform and professionalism and to help improve the country's internal defense capabilities and training capacity.

• Date Taken: 10.14.2016
• Date Posted: 10.14.2016 10:48
• Story ID: 212008
• Location: YAVORIV, UA