Risk Management Magazine

The importance of wearing a seat belt is stressed before just about every convoy, training safety briefing and weekend. Like most young Soldiers, I listened to the words and would say “Hooah!” after my leaders were finished briefing. Also like most young Soldiers, I was only responding out of habit, not compliance.

Foreign object damage on a military aircraft is a serious issue. Before every mission, the entire flight crew, which is five personnel on a CH-47, checks for foreign object debris (FOD) and ensures the aircraft is ready for the mission. Depending on the crew, preflight can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half. It is supposed to be a thorough process. During deployments, however, you get into a battle rhythm and things can go unnoticed due to the monotony of day-after-day operations. In any military aviation setting, that can be devastating.

One April, my sister talked me into running an insane 24-hour relay race called the Ragnar. Twelve of us decided to take on this challenge — a 192-mile trek through the scenic Wasatch Mountains, just east of Salt Lake City. With so many in our group, I only had to run three legs of the race. But don’t be fooled into thinking it was a piece of cake. Over the course of two days and one night, participants are awake, cheering each other on, wearing wacky costumes, listening to live bands and partying along the route. Good times.