Risk Management Magazine

There I was on a chilly Friday evening in December, watching the weather segment on the local 6 o’clock news when Melvin, a teenage hunting and fishing buddy, called. He’d run into Wes, another mutual friend, and asked if I wanted to join them on a duck-hunting excursion.

It’s always sad when a Soldier survives combat only to be killed in a preventable accident once they return home. My friend, John, was barely 20 years old when it happened to him. He was just trying to have a little fun. Life is sometimes cruel.

I think every pilot has a story to share about something foolish they did as a young aviator. Most of us are now older and wiser and might not want to mention some of the things we did in the past. I, however, see value in sharing these mistakes.