MICHAEL TULLEY
Safety Office
U.S. Army Reserve Command
Fort Liberty, North Carolina
There is a dragon out there that has cost the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) two platoons worth of Soldiers over the past three years due to mishaps. This is an unsustainable loss to which we must find a solution.
The USAR and National Guard have three mishap categories: on-duty, off-duty and non-duty. The Army has several components (COMPOs): the regular Army is COMPO 1, the National Guard is COMPO 2 and the USAR is COMPO 3. COMPOs 2 and 3 are the part-time force and make up approximately 50 percent of the Army’s total strength. Most of our Soldiers only serve in uniform 39 days a year. The rest of the year, they are in a non-duty status.
The dragon I speak of is the off-duty and non-duty losses from mishaps. Non-duty mishaps that result in permanent partial disability, permanent total disability or death are known in COMPOs 2 and 3 as Class R mishaps. One issue, a non-duty mishap is not an Army mishap, but it still takes a Soldier out of a formation. Local authorities are often the investigating officials for Class R mishaps, as they occur away from military installations and the Army does not have jurisdiction over the scene or the individual. The Army does not get the same level of fidelity on timelines and root causes of Class R mishaps as when an Army Safety Investigation Board (SIB) investigates a fatal mishap (Class A). This situation makes it difficult to develop a battle plan to combat these losses. The USAR lost 21 Soldiers in FY22, 21 Soldiers in FY23 and 26 Soldiers in FY24 from our formations to Class R mishaps, which is the equivalent of two Army platoons.
America loves its vehicles. Automobiles are a part of our way of life; some of us teach children as young as 14 years old to drive. We drive everywhere and, most of the time, do not even register the hazards we face on the trip to the corner grocery store. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates 42,795 people lost their lives on America’s roadways in 2022 to motor vehicle mishaps. In FY24, motor vehicles accounted for 74 percent of the USAR’s Class R mishaps. That is a hard pill to swallow and an even harder problem to solve. How do you keep Soldiers you have no authority over safe for the 28 days a month they are not on orders? The dragon robbing formations of good men and women is the off-/non-duty mishap.
There is no easy way to fight this dragon; no historical battles we can study to develop a bulletproof battle plan. We are taking on this challenge to protect our Soldiers and prevent these unnecessary losses. Our plan is to trap the dragon in a pincer maneuver using the Army driver training program to strengthen positive driving habits and an off-/non-duty messaging campaign aimed at the Troop Program Unit Soldiers and our off-duty Active Guard Reserve (AGR) Soldiers. The goal is to reduce off-/non-duty losses by 50 percent by 2030.
The top jaw of the pincer is our driver training program. All Soldiers go through driver training to obtain a license to operate Army equipment such as Army motor vehicles, Army combat vehicles, power generation equipment and other motorized equipment. Master drivers train Soldiers to the standards outlined in the vehicle technical manuals, Army regulations and local/host-nation traffic laws. Pairing experienced drivers with new drivers to further teach, coach and mentor our Soldiers on safe motor vehicle operations enhances and enforces good driving habits.
The bottom jaw is our off-/non-duty safety messaging campaign. The USAR’s “The Other 28 Days” campaign is a monthly message delivering timely safety tips on three subjects: motor vehicles, home and outdoor activities. This campaign provides tips to counter the hazards we face daily but rarely pay much attention to because of our familiarity level with the activity.
Engaged leaders at every level of command will deliver the knockout punch. They must teach safe driving techniques, enforce standards, and identify risky behaviors and counter them with safe alternatives. Leaders must be transformative communicators by sharing lessons learned from past mishaps with their Soldiers to apply in everyday life and encouraging them to share that knowledge with family and friends. Leaders must maintain contact with their Soldiers while they are in a non-duty status to stay connected, offer support and ensure their well-being. Leaders and Soldiers doing the right things — this is how we are going to defeat the dragon and save lives.