Have we become complacent? - Editorial

Combat Edge, April, 2003 by Les Capt. Hauck

Situation 1: "Fa la la la, la la la la." I'm singing way out of key of course, but right before Christmas Day, I received word that a chief of safety was needed at one of our expeditionary bases in the Middle East. The departure flight was leaving on New Year's Day, and there was not going to be any on-the-job training for this one. Was I complacent? Not one bit! Here's the kicker: after finally arriving at Base X, my in-brief with the wing commander focused on complacency as a problem around the base. At the time, I found myself staring at a huge question mark -- how could complacency be of concern in the combat environment?

Situation 2: It's mission planning time for a surface attack ride (SAT). The weather has driven us low level and there are multiple surface-to-air missile (SAM) threats throughout the route. The route maps have just been copied, the line up card is complete, and we're almost ready to drop some iron on the bad guys! But first, we must brief up the sortie. As I reference my briefing guide outline -- covering information on aircraft flight separation to weather requirements -- I see an asterisk next to complacency. Enter again the ubiquitous complacency question mark: How could there be complacency on this ride?

The above two situations involve the combat arena, arid both are rigorous and demanding events. Does it seem like complacency would be an issue? Whether girding for war or flying a practice SAT sortie, unfortunately the "C-factor" does not go away. Looking at FYO2's mishap rates and causes, it is not industry and mechanical problems causing mishaps, but rather operator error. With this being the case, it makes it ever important that we question ourselves on complacency: where, when, and why does it occur?

First though, what exactly does the word complacency mean? The word does surface around some safety reports that leave you thinking: 'What the heck was this guy doing?!" The response to the question "What is complacency?" by the carefree worker is also quite simple: "I don't know and I don't care!" Thinking of complacency like this though doesn't quite hit the nail square on the cranium. A more in-depth definition describes complacency as "a calm sense of wellbeing and security, feeling self-satisfied, and an unawareness to actual dangers or deficiencies." Has this ever happened to you?

A quick, defensive response might be "Of course not!" If you look closer, however, the view changes. Consider the following example: On your drive to work, you pass a number of prominent landmarks -- a car dealership, a cow farm, or even a sports arena. However, after your 69th time of making the trip, do you remember passing them anymore? The answer is no, and it is due to familiarity; all those once non-miss landmarks blend into a monotonous daydream.

In Situation 1 described above, I could not fathom complacency being a factor around an unfamiliar camp in the middle of the desert. Things soon changed, and I saw my boss' view. By a week into work, I found myself in a 'Just another day -- I've seen this one before" routine. After only a week! Some of the pilots had been in-theater for over 200 days and flown the same mission multiple times. If my day was already like that drive to work at home, what was theirs like? Were they referencing checklists in their daily cockpit chores, or staying on-guard for suspicious third country national actions? It was time not to just fight terrorism; now it was time to police ourselves. We soon found discipline as one of the best combatants.

The Pros consider discipline a "safety net," or prevention technique, that is available to fight complacency. The breakdown of what discipline encompasses though is infinite. For instance, a person's professional involvement, or desire to learn more about his or her career field, is a discipline. In Situation 2, the complex SAT mission seemed to be lacking in opportunities for complacency. The ride would be so busy that task saturation would more likely be a factor. I questioned myself: Why even brief complacency? As I looked closer though, many opportunities for the C-factor strike surfaced: preflight, engine start, takeoff, landing...these are many repetitive tasks that lead down the complacent road.

Professional involvement also means staying in the books and knowing your equipment to a T. Example: if I read about a bolt failure in the main gear, I am more apt to pay closer attention in my preflight while looking under the gear well. The same applies when flying an endless combat air patrol (CAP). If, under one G, I study techniques and specifics on new systems, this is not just time to tick away airborne; it is practice time.

This brings up another point. While technological innovations increase our war fighting ability, these systems also indirectly contribute to complacency. The Wright brothers, in the early 1900s were far from lackadaisical in their first flight. Today though, with innovations that nearly fly the plane itself, it makes it easier and easier for a pilot to forget essential tasks or to monitor systems. Furthermore, we cannot expect all our systems to work, expect the tower controller to say "cleared to land," or expect the daily airfield inspection to pass without flaw.