Risk Management Magazine

Everyone in the military has their own reasons for joining. I volunteered because I needed to support my growing family. I almost ended my life and military career at age 19, however, when I — like so many Soldiers before and after me — rolled a HMMWV.

About a year after graduating from flight school, I was conducting instrument meteorological conditions training at my local airport with an instructor pilot. It was early spring and weather conditions were cloudy, with temperatures hovering at the freezing point.

All too often in aviation we are hesitant to admit when we don’t know something or, even worse, that we made a mistake. This is not surprising considering that, as a community, we are mostly Type A personalities.