Risk Management Magazine

If you took your eyes off the aircraft in front of you, it was very difficult to reacquire it. The ground was covered with snow with little contrast, and the sky was overcast. It was snowing heavily, which produced a dangerous whiteout condition.

Things were going smoothly until my right ring finger got caught between the log and the splitter’s cast iron back plate. The sudden force of 27 tons of hydraulic pressure on my finger was excruciating! My first instinct was to pull my hand out of the way, but this may have actually caused more harm than good, as the flesh on the tip of my finger, to include the nail, was completely ripped off.

It was a Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and I’d traveled from Fort Drum, New York, to my grandmother’s house in Massachusetts to visit family. I planned to return to Fort Drum on Sunday because my unit was deploying to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, the following day. I’d made this drive many times, so it would be an easy trip — or so I thought.