Ground safety program best in AETC

  • Published
  • By John Ingle
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  The 82nd Training Wing Safety Office once again proved it's the best in the command after it was awarded the Air Education and Training Command Ground Safety Excellence Award, the fourth such honor in the past five years.

The award recognizes the wing with the most effective ground mishap prevention program.

"Everyone here is mission focused," said James Zillweger, the wing's chief of safety. "They know their work makes a difference."

The list of accomplishments for the safety office is staggering, but the two initiatives that Mr. Zillweger and his chief of ground safety, Mark Schaffer, are particularly proud of include a Labor Day weekend project and Driving Under the Influence Prevention Program.

The Labor Day weekend initiative gave commanders the opportunity to evaluate what the most-likely mishap would be over that weekend and how they could prevent it. By doing so, it put commanders in a position to prevent a mishap before it happened.

The plan received praise from the Air Force Safety Center and was shared with other safety offices Air Force wide.

The DUI Prevention Program focused on four areas: education, awareness, incentives and post-DUI commander measures. Not only did the program raise caution among Sheppard members, but it also reduced the rate of DUIs by 60 percent since the program was officially implemented in February.

"We can get that down to 70 percent if we are DUI-free the rest of the year," Mr. Shaffer said.

Other programs that contributed to the success of the office include: motorcycle safety; seatbelts; Safety Days for January Challenge and 101 Critical Days of Summer; and design and distribution of 10,000 safety tags for visual reminders for DUI prevention and use of Airmen Against Drunk Driving.

Mr. Zillweger said although the safety office can tabulate how many on- or off-duty injuries have occurred or how many members were caught driving under the influence, one item they can't measure is how often their programs save a life.

Mr. Shaffer added that they might not ever receive feedback on whether or not a program they've implemented has saved a life. Although being named the best ground safety program in AETC provides some sort of validation, it doesn't mean they are content.

"There's always something we can improve on," he said. "You never can attain perfection, but that doesn't mean you stop trying."

For more information about Sheppard's safety programs, visit their webpage on the Air Force Portal. (Only Air Force and Department of Defense employees can access the Air Force Portal.)