FORT HOOD, Texas - It's the Thursday before a four-day weekend.
Instead of doing the usual safety brief, Soldiers assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion "Maverick," 1st Cavalry Division, took part in a battalion-wide safety stand down day.
"This safety stand down is to ensure all service members that belong to the battalion are aware of risks associated with winter activities," said Command Sgt. Major Kyle Brinkman, the acting command sergeant major for Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division.
The three-hour training period focused on five different categories of safety: fire safety focusing on both electrical and space heater safety, as well as holiday, cold weather, and motorcycle safety.
"The benefit of the Maverick Battalion of doing a safety stand down is this provides a focal point to launch into the next season of safety concerns for the Maverick Soldiers," Brinkman said.
Soldiers of various ranks rotated throughout the different stations. Enlisted Soldiers and officers listened to the dos and don'ts of the listed safety topics and how to minimize potential hazards.
"Everyone should know this particular type of information," said Sgt. V. Robert Mead, a utility equipment repairer assigned to Headquarters Support Company, HHBn., 1st Cav. Div. "No matter what your rank is, this information is vital."
He said continuously taking part in the unit's ongoing training allows the Soldiers to respond appropriately to any situation.
"This training allows Soldiers to easily correct their mistake, because they went to the training so many times, it became second nature," said Mead, a Bronx, New York, native.
The topics chosen were geared toward activities that are more common in the coming months and that pose a greater risk.
Soldiers saw demonstrations on the risks of not properly plugging in holiday lights and how to use an extinguisher and the different types available.
"By taking the time out of everybody's busy schedule and giving these classes, it keeps these topics in the forefront of Soldiers' minds," said Sgt. 1st Class John Gutierrez, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the counterintelligence/human intelligence cell in the division's G2 section.
Gutierrez, a Salisbury, Maryland , native, said the training comes down to leaders caring.
"It's (training is) important, because it demonstrates to the Soldier our comprehensive concern for their well being," he said. "Soldiers, a lot of times, question, 'How come we do things that civilians don't?' and it's because their leadership cares, and the manifestation of that caring is by ensuring that they are armed with the best information to provide not only for their safety but their Families as well."
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