Air force chief of safety visits PACAF

Flying Safety, August, 2008 by Sebastian J. Carrado

"Safety should be everyone's priority" was the central theme of the recent visit to the Pacific Air Force theater by Major General Wendell L. Griffin, the Air Force Chief of Safety and Commander, Air Force Safety Center.

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General Griffin has made it a point, since becoming the Air Force's most senior ranking safety officer in June 2007, to spend time with each MAJCOM and their respective safety offices, to not only get a first-hand look at some of the critical safety issues and concerns facing the MAJCOMs and wings, but to talk about what's on his scope in the way of safety priorities.

This past February, accompanied by Colonel John Kreger, the PACAF Chief of Safety, the general set out to visit PACAF and spread the safety message. The Air Force Chief of Safety engaged in an extensive visit to pitch his three primary points covering five Air Force installations--Hickam AFB, Yokota AB, Misawa AB, Kadena AB and Andersen AFB. Speaking to an audience of operators and maintainers at the first-ever 35th Maintenance Group Quarterly Safety Meeting at Misawa AB, Japan, Maj. Gen. Griffin ticked off the three largest items on his scope: "Leadership, Operational Risk Management/Maintenance Resource Management, and the Wingman philosophy are my three big points." These points have been at the center of an aggressive campaign by the Chief of Safety to take the safety message to the field. "It's all about leadership ..." Gen. Griffin began with his first point, "... It's all about commander involvement." He stressed how critical it was for commanders to be engaged and to also put safety on their scopes. "If leadership makes it a priority and gives it attention, the force will take notice, and it will get better," he said.

He also highlighted the importance of reinvigorating ORM/MRM as part of his back-to-basics on safety approach. These programs focus their respective functional communities on assessing and minimizing risks inherent in the nature of doing their jobs. ORM/MRM should be applied where guidance is not available or doesn't cover all aspects of a particular situation--which includes a great deal of what the Air Force is doing today. Even where technical order guidance provides pretty exact instructions, human factors, the environment, and other issues must be evaluated. That's where ORM/MRM comes into play. ORM/MRM is intended to help identify and minimize unnecessary risk. In ops and mx, people get into trouble when they cut corners and don't follow procedures. If your conscience is questioning what you're doing or how you're doing it, step back and re-assess. As Maj. Gen. Griffin pointed out to the group, "... If you hear someone talk about a "work around" or "shortcut," that should make the hair on the back of your neck stand up."

The Chief of Safety then transitioned into his third point, the Wingman Culture. He applauded the Wingman concept saying, "In 32 years of service, I've seen programs come and go, and this is a great program. It's all about Airmen taking care of Airmen ... everyone should be a wingman, and everyone should have a wingman. I have a wingman; you should have a wingman." He emphasized that the Air Force is building a culture that says when someone sees something wrong, they will identify it, report it and attempt to fix it 24/7.

Other areas the general touched on included Human Factors being at the heart of a lot of mishaps on and off duty. Whether it is maintenance, flying, or driving a car/motorcycle, the concepts and problems remain the same. He also focused on reaching out in the right way to ensure our high risk group (18-26 year-olds), whom he referred to as "The Indestructibles," are getting the right message in the medium they work and play in. "Saving lives and protecting resources--no matter what we do, that is the bottom line for a safety program, and it's how I will judge myself after this command," the general noted. "We need to get our eye back on the target. We need an increased focus on the safety analysis of near misses, almost accidents, almost mishaps. We need to analyze the leading indicators of where the next accident or next mishap is going to be and prevent it from happening. The key is to create a safer environment on and off duty."

Maj. Gen. Griffin also took the opportunity to observe and fly aboard an AWACS mission with the 961st AACS while visiting Kadena AB, Japan (see above photo). He saw firsthand some of the safety issues that face these dedicated Airmen every day.

MAJ. SEBASTIAN J. CARRADO

Air Force Safety Office, Pentagon