December 2020 AAAA.pdf [PDF - 82.1 KB]
The holidays are here and in the spirit of giving, I want to share with you the many risk management tools offered by the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center. Some you might know, some you might not, but they’re all designed with the same goal in mind: helping you and your junior leaders protect Soldiers and preserve resources.
First, with the exodus period upon us, many Soldiers will be driving away from their home installations to visit family and friends. After months of COVID-19 travel restrictions, their haste to get there could be stronger than ever. First-line leader counseling will be crucial to Soldiers understanding the hazards of driving to, from, and in and around not only their holiday destinations, but any trip year-round.
The USACRC has several tools to engage Soldiers on private motor vehicle safety, including the Travel Risk Planning System (https://trips.safety.army.mil) and Small Unit Leader Cards (https://safety.army.mil/OFF-DUTY/Small-Unit-Leader-Cards). While no longer an Army requirement before leave or pass, TRiPS remains an effective tool for thinking and talking through long-distance travel and is a fantastic complement to traditional face-to-face counseling. Likewise, Small Unit Leader Cards are printable, shareable, and customizable wallet-size cards that provide PMV mishap statistics and talking points for leaders counseling Soldiers on off-duty safety and risk management.
The Off Duty Safety Awareness Presentation (https://safety.army.mil/odsap), one of the USACRC’s longstanding risk management products, has proven effective for leaders looking to talk to their Soldiers beyond the standard safety brief. Updated and released annually during late spring, the presentation contains stand-alone modules on trending off-duty safety topics that may be briefed individually or as a whole to accommodate training schedules. While summer is traditionally ODSAP’s heaviest use period, the presentation spans all seasons and is a perfect addition to leaders’ toolkits for weekend and holiday safety briefs.
It’s a given that most aviators, maintainers and aviation support Soldiers drive PMVs — which is why off-duty risk management is just as critical to readiness as what happens inside an aircraft. But with the significant volume of rolling stock that belongs to aviation formations Army-wide, on-duty vehicle safety is an urgent priority. The Driver’s Training Toolbox (https://safety.army.mil/ON-DUTY/Drivers-Training-Toolbox) is a collection of resources required for leaders establishing and maintaining effective driver training programs. It includes guidance from the September 2019 update to Army Regulation 600-55, The Army Driver and Operator Standardization Program (Selection, Training, Testing, and Licensing), which places responsibility for driver training at each level of command. I encourage you to check out the toolbox to ensure your programs are in compliance with the new regulation.
Lessons learned are perhaps the most valuable tool we have for preventing future mishaps and saving lives. Two products, the Aviation Mishap Prevention Briefing (formerly “Near Miss,” https://safety.army.mil/MEDIA/Exportable-Briefings) and Lessons Learned/Class A and Fatality Alerts Repository (https://safety.army.mil/lessonslearned), are designed to promote awareness of the factors surrounding mishaps investigated by the USACRC. The briefing is downloadable and may be presented by unit leadership, or we will travel to you upon request for in-person interaction with mishap investigators themselves. Fatality alerts also provide excellent talking points for leaders engaging their Soldiers during safety briefs or stand-downs.
Finally, the USACRC recently released the brand-new Mishap and Near Miss Reporting Tool, the first module of the Army Safety Management Information System 2.0 now available for Army-wide use. It replaces the previous system, ReportIt, and features improvements including an intuitive, auto-populated drop-down tab interface that facilitates faster and easier mishap reporting. Check it out at https://mishap.safety.army.mil/, and please let me know what you think.
These are just a few of the tools the USACRC has designed with you and your Soldiers in mind. You can find them all at https://safety.army.mil. Safety is the most precious gift we can give this holiday season, and we owe our people nothing less than the best.
Happy Holidays — Readiness Through Safety!
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