Fort Belvoir, Va. (May 22, 2014) - The Army Air Operations Group and 12th Aviation Battalion kicked off the "101 Days of Summer" with a Safety Day, May 14 at Davison Army Airfield.
"We lead into Memorial Day and the rest of the summer for everybody to have a safe summer," said Ross Steadman, brigade safety officer with the Army Air Operations Group.
In the morning, Soldiers and civilians engaged in hands-on safety demonstrations and visited information booths about health, safety and wellness, provided by a community organizations and public partners.
The Fairfax County Police Department hosted a gauntlet of activities designed to demonstrate how alcohol and drugs can impact a person's vision and balance. Soldiers and civilians put on goggles that simulated a person's vision with a blood alcohol content level between .07 and .1 (.08 is the legal limit). Then, they tried to navigate an obstacle course with a scooter, shoot a basketball and take a sobriety test with the goggles on.
"Everything looked like it was leaning to the right on me," said Marsell Williams, civilian facility chief at the Pentagon heliport, after he wore the "drunk goggles" while shooting some hoops.
"That goes to show driving and drinking is really a dangerous thing to do," he added.
Sgt. Chris Kampmeier, 911th Technical Rescue Engineer Company, 12th Aviation Battalion, tried to walk in a straight line with the goggles on.
"You think you're going straight and you don't even realize you're going off to the side," he said.
The morning demonstrations taught Kampmeier that people under the influence of drugs or alcohol can't trust their own eyes, he added.
"All of this actual live training -- driving drunk, walking drunk -- it's really good training. It actually makes you aware that you may not notice how drunk you are or how drunk someone is," he said.
At another demonstration, Soldiers could try a texting and driving simulator game, provided by Drive Square. The simulator showed how far a car could travel -- hitting pedestrians, other cars and obstacles that came up -- during the few seconds that the driver looked down at a phone.
In addition to the demonstrations, Safety Day participants could visit the Fort Belvoir Community Hospital booths on health and wellness, including sleep health, nutrition and heart health. Hospital staff members also provided free blood pressure screenings.
They also learned about safety programs and the latest equipment at booths provided by State Farm Insurance, Coleman Motor Sports, Battalion Motorcycle Mentors, Program Executive Office Soldier and the American Red Cross.
In the afternoon, Lamar D. Greene, assistant chief of police for the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., spoke to the group about the importance of preparedness at Wood Theater.
He also asked Soldiers and civilians to report suspicious activity they see downtown, and on post.
Anyone can get crime statistics and maps, or report a crime in the D.C. area, online at http://mpdc.dc.gov, he added.
"Share information," he said. "Things you see that make the hair stand up on the back on your neck and it just doesn't seem right, you need to report those. It just goes back to keeping people informed and staying out of the way of violence."
Safety Day culminated in a Safety Jeopardy competition between units at the theater.
Capt. Michael Riccitiello, 911th Technical Rescue Engineer Company commander, brought about 70 of his Soldiers to the event, and said it was a great way for them to refresh their safety knowledge.
"It's good for us to take a day and do nothing but safety because, in general, in the Army, what we do is inherently dangerous," he said. "A lot of this has to do with off duty stuff as well. It's good for them to see all that and get some information and maybe learn a few things that they didn't know before."
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