Command Emphasis on Safety
The 1st TSC has a unique structure. It is a split-based unit with elements at Fort Bragg, N.C., and Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. In its deployed mode, 70 percent of its strength comes from National Guard and Reserve units.
Maj. Gen. Kenneth S. Dowd, commanding general of 1st TSC, demanded application of the Army's composite risk management matrix at every leadership level and accountability -- from routine safety stand-down inspections to the smallest mishap in a motor pool. Dowd stressed his safety priorities through quarterly executive safety council meetings with unit commanders. In this forum, he reviewed safety training and safety metrics and had his commanders share their best practices with the team. Through frequent motor pool visits on Camp Arifjan, Dowd met with battalion, company and convoy commanders to discuss impending missions and reinforced the fundamentals of convoy safety: spacing, speed, rollover procedures and safety restraints. Command teams also discussed actions to take in facing an armed enemy on the highways, as well as the enemy of fatigue. Convoy commanders were authorized to decide on unscheduled rest overnight stops, or RONs, for the welfare and safety of their drivers. Throughout the 1st TSC, Leaders lead by example to reduce accidental injury or death among Soldiers, Army Civilians and Department of Defense contractors.
Safety on the Battlefield
In maximizing the awareness and practice of safety, the safety director was authorized to go into every motor pool, convoy brief and stockyard to check and enforce safety standards. The 1st TSC safety team was constantly meeting with commanders, first sergeants and convoy crews in orderly rooms, dining facilities and motor pools to put the word out on the latest in best driving and road practices while also gathering lessons learned from returning convoys. The safety director's days never seemed to stop as he and his team collected and analyzed threat-based and accidental hazard-based vulnerabilities of convoys and related operations to determine risk. Acting on his latest findings, the safety director implemented and enforced appropriate control measures. Feedback from drivers was priceless, and their comments enabled the safety team to advise the commander and his staff with accurate composite risk assessments and countermeasures.
Mission First, Soldiers Always
In the final 58-day stretch to complete the withdrawal from Iraq, convoys were coming and going around the clock. Every member of the 1st TSC team felt the weight of the increased operational tempo, yet everyone, from mechanics to chaplains, hunkered down and took ownership of this mission. Dowd regularly checked with his commanders on unit morale and personally encouraged Soldiers to take advantage of the resiliency centers at Camps Arifjan and Virginia when time allowed. Rest was a valued commodity, and Soldiers made good use of the facilities at these centers.
Safety at the Unit Level
The line-haul companies were the chief concern during the last two months of 2011. Their muscle and determination made the withdrawal a resounding success. In talking to the officers, NCOs and Soldiers of those units, Dowd found an enduring attitude toward safety that all units should emulate. First Lt. Linden Allen, executive officer of the 1644th Transportation Company of the Illinois Army National Guard, spoke for all when he expressed his company's regard for safety.
"We apply safety to everything we do," Allen said. "It starts with an intensive drivers' training and selection program and continues with safety briefs and inspections before every leg of a mission and regular safety stand-downs."
Allen added that CRM played a big role in the company's mission-planning process.
"The CRM process is used to its fullest extent to mitigate the risk of injury and our leaders, from company commander to our enlisted truck commanders, are tasked with supervising safety," he said.
"The Rest of the Story"
During those intense days of convoys traveling into and out of Iraq, the 1st TSC's low accident rate didn't meet even the minimum cost threshold of an Army Class D accident. According to AR 385-10, a Class D accident results in a non-fatal injury and with the total cost of property damage amounting to greater than $2,000 but less than $50,000. In fact, most of the injuries and mishaps sustained during this time occurred during off-duty activities such as team sports. Incredibly, a Soldier's foot injury was the most serious accident recorded during the withdrawal.
The Role of Safety in History
The 1st TSC safety program played a critical role in the execution of the massive withdrawal of troops and equipment from Iraq. Pushing troops and equipment to the limits of their endurance required a deep appreciation and understanding of safety measures of both commander and Soldier. Under such rigorous conditions, commanders must always be vigilant of their Soldiers' welfare and well-being.
When the withdrawal was completed Dec. 18 -- nearly two weeks before President Barack Obama's Dec. 31 deadline -- the 1st TSC had conducted 481 convoys, totaling 11 million miles across rough and unforgiving terrain. This final sum of miles traveled is equal to circling the globe at the equator 442 times. In the end, these drivers had transported 32,000 containers, 19,000 vehicles and 86,000 service members.
The challenge of this retrograde required the 1st TSC to travel greater distances, at faster speeds and with fewer trucks than the Red Ball Express during World War II. This accomplishment proves effective leadership, committed troops, a culture of safety and a clear mission can result in moving mountains.
1st TSC Commanding General's
Top Five Safety Priorities
1. Conduct quarterly safety meetings. Commander must brief program and lessons learned. Open discussion and forum. Contractors must participate.
2. Must conduct safety stand-downs once units arrive and prior to redeployment.
3. Safety team must be an enabler, not just a recorder of safety accidents and issues. Empower them.
4. Commander must discuss data and trends in command and staff sessions. Use your G-2 for threat analysis and trends.
5. Live and breathe your safety program, just don't talk it. Believe in the safety system and forecast upcoming trends.
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