By
US Army SSgt Stacey Wamble
THE US Army has had 189 fatalities so far this year, a figure
concerning military officials.
US
Army Gen John Keane, Vice Chief of Staff, said the figure was
an increase on last year’s total of 168.
“We’ve
got a problem,” he said.
“Those
numbers will continue to climb until we stop them.”
Historically,
safety performance has been a success story, with accidental deaths
being reduced by half during the past 10 years.
“The
increased number of fatalities and accidents this year can be
attributed to many things, especially operational tempo.”
According
to Gen Keane the squad leader knows the soldiers the US Army Safety
Strategic Plan – signed by the secretary of the Army and
the Chief of Staff last November – provides the vision and
guidance for reducing accidents by integrating safety and risk
management throughout the Army.
“The
leaders at the lowest levels usually have the least education
and training on the risk-management process – as well as
the least experience,” he said.
“Additionally,
some leaders rate identified hazards lower than is appropriate
rather than recognising the risk for what it is and implementing
the appropriate controls.
“Safety
should be a consideration with everything we do. The worst thing
we can do is send our soldiers into combat when they are not properly
prepared.”
He
said leaders needed to identify tasks and set the conditions to
replicate combat as closely as possible.
“The
risk-management process enables units to safely conduct very demanding,
realistic training that properly prepares soldiers for combat
without sacrificing safety.” –
American Forces Press Service
