Risk Management Magazine

A buddy of mine, Sgt. Jones, volunteered to be one of the drivers for the company’s M35 two-and-a-half-ton truck. Jones was looking forward to getting out of Iraq for a couple of days and taking advantage of the swimming pool at Camp Arifjan, a logistics base in Kuwait. He wouldn’t make it, though, thanks to some poor decision-making.

I’m thankful I used my 33 years of military training and considered what was beyond my target. A poor split-second decision could have changed both of our lives forever.

Every hunting season brings new stories about successful outings, big trophies and near misses. Unfortunately, it also brings new stories about serious accidents — most of which could have been avoided with a little common sense and proper safety equipment.