The 205th 'takes 5' for summer safety

205th Infantry Brigade, First Army, Division East
Story by Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Benoit

Date: 06.16.2011
Posted: 06.16.2011 14:53
News ID: 72196
The 205th 'takes 5' for summer safety

CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. – Summer can be a very dangerous time of year. With a notable increase in off-duty accidental fatalities the U.S. Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center has launched its 2011 Safe Summer Campaign, which runs April 1 through Sept. 30.

Getting the Army’s message out to all soldiers is sometimes costly and difficult to accomplish.

Army Safe is Army Strong and to make sure all Soldiers and family members are safe this summer, the 205th’s safety team is going well above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that everyone is doing something to save a life.

It requires out of the box thinking, and that is what the 205th Infantry Brigade’s Safety team is doing this summer to help protect our band of brothers and sisters during this high-risk time of year.

“To help get the Army’s message out was going to require a unique approach,” said Sgt. Maj. Kenneth Hinckley from the 205th’s Safety Office. “We accomplished this by hosting a podcast.”

To help kick off the 205th’s “Take 5 Summer Safety Campaign,” radio talk show host Candi Fox with BlogTalkRadio.com featured a special two-hour live broadcast from “The House” All Ranks Club bringing the message of Safety to the airwaves.

Master Sgt. Scott Arispe co-hosted the show since he had previous experience with the Armed Forces Network as a radio personality and is now assigned to the 205th Infantry Brigade.

Special guests included Maj. Kenneth Knight, Maurice Haygood and Kenneth Hinckley Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center and 205th safety supervisors.

The mantra “Let’s just talk safety” was the topic of conversation and centered around both on and off-duty summer safety issues, such as motorcycle safety awareness, bicycle safety and adverse weather.

Multimedia products are available and are meant to bolster the command’s existing safety program by providing information on topics that their soldiers, family members and civilians may enjoy during their off-duty time.

Taking the Army’s multimedia concept one step further requires motivated soldiers with a spirit of innovation. Using only the available technology and resources to create a podcast that can be heard live or rebroadcasted throughout 30 countries is going well above and beyond the call of duty.

Arispe commented that podcasting is a great platform in reaching out to those soldiers who are in touch with the technology of the 21st century.

“In addition, it provides another way for the commander to exhaust all means in stressing safety and ensuring that the 205th is leading the way,” said Arispe. “Having soldiers ‘Take 5’ this summer, we will have them asking themselves and their peers, “What have you done to save a life today?”.