Stand-To: Procedure prior to first light to enhance unit security, a daily compendium of news, information, and context for Army leaders.

National Safety Month

What is it?

Lasting through June, National Safety Month is a coordinated effort by military and civilian agencies to focus awareness on safety, especially during the high-risk critical days of summer.

Since accidents typically peak during the spring and summer months it’s imperative that all Army personnel, civilian, military and families, maintain vigilance and look out for one another during the weeks ahead. As all of us take advantage of our downtime this summer, it’s especially important to ensure that safety is always an integral part of our vacation and leisure time plans.

What has the Army done?

The Army’s Safe Spring/Summer campaign is currently underway, providing leaders with multimedia tool boxes loaded with safety messages aimed at keeping our Soldiers, families and civilians safe. The 2011 campaign, themed “What have you done to save a life today?,” is available online at the U.S. Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center website. Educational and motivational tools included in the campaign look at popular summer topics like long-distance driving, beach activities, camping, starting the backyard grill, fireworks, driving under the influence and distracted driving, speeding and seat belt use among others. Each of the 18 campaign topics contains downloadable articles, posters and videos for use at the unit or post level and also are useful for pre-holiday safety briefs.

Why is this important to the Army?

National Safety Month, sponsored by the National Safety Council, is an annual event that offers Army leaders a prime opportunity to engage with their Soldiers on safety and energize focus on accident prevention. The months between Memorial Day and Labor Day are historically among the most dangerous for our Army family. It’s critical that leaders, Soldiers, families and civilians realize that a loss from an accident takes a Soldier out of the fight. Safety ensures our warriors can carry out their missions and continue protecting the American people.

What does the Army have planned for the future?

While warm weather activities make for the most accidents, all Army personnel will continue to benefit by understanding the risks highlighted in the current and other safety-related campaigns. Throughout the year and depending on the specific season, future campaigns will be geared to cold weather driving and sports, winter holidays, home safety and back-to-school activities.

Resources:

National Safety Council

U.S. Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center