Bent metal or bloodshed; we don’t take shortcuts!

Photo By Master Sgt. Andrew Satran | Col. Matthew Kmon, 31st Maintenance Group commander, poses for his commander's commentary photo on May 22, 2018, at Aviano Air Base, Italy. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Andrew Satran)  

ITALY

05.24.2018

Courtesy Story

31st Fighter Wing

By Col. Matthew Kmon, 31st Maintenance Group commander

I spend a lot of time walking tall with the pride I have as a maintainer and the life of consequence I and my Airmen lead.

I also am left wondering at times how much better we, as an Air Force, would be if everybody just followed the rules and performed at the minimum level. When a life of consequence collides with a ‘don’t violate the minimum, or min, rule’ the outcome can be amplified and I hope some of the lessons we learn daily can be leveraged to improve your operation, whatever it is you do for our great country.

Let me explain what a life of consequence means.

It implies that every action, every decision, every lapse of focus and adherence has the potential to waste treasure, or worse, human life. My Airmen cannot take short cuts, they cannot make mistakes and they cannot ever relax. If they do, the feedback is immediate in either bent metal or bloodshed. This is not a cliché, it’s a fact.

The technical data and Air Force Instructions set a bare minimum in our line of work. They are written based on mistakes from the past; from previous bent metal and loss of blood. It is relatively easy to be successful and safe, yet the pressure to turn jets, fix equipment in limited supply, hustle through a weapon load or munition build, can be overwhelming.

The competing priorities to write your enlisted performance reports, take your college classes, square away your medical readiness and tend to your family, make it feel like there is simply not enough time in the day to always do it by the book, and do it in a methodical manner…whatever “it” may be. However, history tells us the slightest dip below the mins for the best of reasons will, without a doubt, come back to haunt us. Combine these pressures with a surplus of new 3-level Airmen with an increase in workload and the environment can rapidly become dangerous with the deck stacked against us.

Over the last year we have violated the mins and pressed our luck, not because we want to screw things up, but because we are pushed hard and driven fast. We have had a surplus of vehicle accidents, on and off-duty because we drove a bit too fast or didn’t have that spotter looking where the blind spots lurk. We have bent metal and broken equipment because we skipped that step to pre-inspect or service properly because we knew the last ten times the servicing wasn’t required, and the Airman before us had left it in great shape. We have sent several Airmen to the hospital for stitches, broken bones and mental health concerns, because we were rushing to launch a jet and failed to wear the proper protective equipment or told someone to ‘suck it up’ just because they seemed a bit off.

All of these infractions and causal factors didn’t come from a desire to make mistakes, but rather from a belief that we had to produce a sortie, we didn’t need the personal protective equipment because the last ten times the hydraulic fluid did not spill out and into our eyes, or a belief that life is tough and everybody can just cope with it…because we are tough as nails maintainers, after all.

It is at these times in our careers that we have to fall back on the old adage that “Leadership Matters.” If you’re a supervisor, build an environment where nobody feels obligated to violate the mins. Build a culture where you push aggressive mission focus and task accomplishment balanced with an understanding of when to take a knee or slow the roll. Remind people that nothing is worth compromising your integrity and standing to be heard is always right.

You may not lead the life of consequence that we do, but you need to know that failing to meet the mins, do it by the book the right way, every time, will eventually get you hurt or get you discharged. Don’t take short cuts, don’t put yourself in a position to eat risk that the system has levied on you and don’t be causal in the next mishap. Meet the minimums and make sure everybody around you meets the minimums as well.

• Date Taken: 05.24.2018
• Date Posted: 05.24.2018 05:12
• Story ID: 278223
• Location: IT