BABIL PROVINCE, Iraq – It’s an average morning on Contingency Operating Site Kalsu. Soldiers shuffle around, making their way to the dining facility and various other places. A Humvee sits running outside the laundry facility as other vehicles pass along the road. With its engine idly clattering, an unwitting young soldier sits in the rear seat poring over a magazine. He is alone as the vehicle’s other occupants have gone to retrieve their laundry.
“Where’s the driver for this vehicle?” says a voice from outside the truck.
“They’re all inside getting their laundry, Pete,” says the soldier.
With a stern voice Pete says, “Someone needs to be in the driver seat if the truck is running. You guys know the rules.”
As Pete walks on, the driver appears next to the truck.
“Who was that?” says the driver.
“Just Safety Pete gettin’ on me about the truck runnin’ with nobody in the driver’s seat,” says the soldier.
The soldiers correct the problem and get moving for the day’s mission. They don’t question him because he’s right, and he’s simply doing his job. That’s why they call him Safety Pete.
Safety Pete is really Mr. Peter Higgins, a Safety and Occupational Health Specialist who for the last three years has been ensuring the safety of equipment and the soldiers using it in the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.
Pete is a tall man. He walks with a determined stride and can be made out from a distance. He is easily set apart from the crowd. His khaki pants and polo shirt distinguish him from the sea of Army Combat Uniforms around him. He has a gruff but caring voice when he speaks.
“Since I came in the Army in 1976 I’ve been on every tank there’s been,” he says. “All except for the M1A2 version of the Abrams. What I’ve always cared about most, though, was just being around soldiers.”
Higgins retired from active duty service in 1999 as a first sergeant and went to work as a teacher in Killeen, Texas. He says he didn’t care much for teaching after awhile and went to work as a parole officer for the State of Texas.
“Both were good jobs but I found myself missing the Army and especially working with soldiers,” said Higgins.
Higgins said that after 9/11 he determined that he would return to military service as a civilian and put his resume together. Shortly thereafter, the previous 3rd ACR commander contacted him and he went to work for the regiment as its safety officer.
“I came on with the regiment and immediately caught up with them in Iraq during the 07-09 rotation,” said Higgins.
During the last deployment of the regiment and in the current rotation Higgins has covered thousands of miles from base to base, checking everything from wall plugs and extension cords to soldiers’ driver training programs and mission risk assessments.
“I spend a lot of my time walking or driving around looking for hazards and unsafe actions or practices the soldiers may be involved in,” he says. “When I see something, I typically grab another soldier and let them correct the problem so that others don’t make the same mistakes. It comes down to taking care of the soldier, period.”
Higgins recently detected a problem with the fire suppression system on a series of trucks in the 3rd ACR inventory. A missed step in its installation, coupled with unclear directions for inspection, posed a serious danger to the soldiers.
“I never realized when I reported it how far up it would actually go,” he says with a chuckle. “The issue has gone all the way to the Department of Defense, and corrections are now being made to the vehicle manual.”
“I just try to do my best to ensure the safety of the soldiers who are out here doing the missions every day,” he says. “Accidents will happen, but they can be prevented if the right information is passed along.”
Everywhere Higgins goes he is looking for ways to increase soldier safety. Safety is his job, and it’s what he spends his days doing. Most Soldiers in 3rd ACR don’t know who Pete Higgins is. Almost all of them know Safety Pete.
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