Risk Management Magazine

The tragic death of a young sergeant crushed beneath a tactical vehicle during routine maintenance underscores that repetitive motor pool tasks harbor lethal, often normalized hazards. To prevent such irreversible losses, leaders and Soldiers must move beyond "checking the box" on safety.

Between fiscal 2022 and May 2026, the U.S. Army experienced 54 non-vehicle wildlife-related mishaps — ranging from bear and coyote attacks to frequent insect incidents — that resulted in one fatality, 541 lost duty days and over $10.4 million in medical costs. Armed with these documented trends, military leaders and safety officers must implement comprehensive, location-specific risk management strategies, training and seasonal protocols to mitigate these preventable threats to unit readiness.

When I arrived at a live-fire grenade range, I discovered a hazardous shortcut that put Soldiers directly in the blast path of detonating fuzes to save time.