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Show c May 4, 2000 Safety must remain top priority during AFs most critical days By Col. John Weida 388th Fighter Wing Commander 101 CritTraditionally, Memorial Day weekend begins the ical Days of Summer. Historically, just as the name implies, the summer season is the Air Forces highest incident period. Accidents of every conceivable nature happen while people are enjoying the nice weather. Unfortunately, many of these accidents come at a high price, often resulting in severe injury or death. Last year, the Air Force had the best summer campaign in history, yet we still lost 1 8 people to accidents that in many cases vere preventable. We will kick off this season with a Safety Day May 12. Our intent is to heighten safety awareness in all wing personnel during both on and off duty activities, to ensure we bring all our people back after the summer period. We have a very busy schedule ahead of us. In addition to the normal summer leaves and permanent change of station moves, we have numerous deployments and exercises in preparation for our fall so-call- ed ' high-inciden- ce . operational readiness inspection. Against this backdrop, we will continue to have significant changeover in key leadership positions throughout the 388th Fighter Wing. Clearly we must be vigilant during this time. As we focus on mission accomplishment, we can never let our safety guard down. Each and every one of us must start mentally preparing and assessing the various safety threats our people may encounter dur- ing this busy summer season. Accidents can happen anytime, anywhere. The potential for mishaps can be minimized if we do a little and never lose our safety mindset. On duty, know when to call knock it off, slow down, or regroup. There is not a peacetime mission worth hurting someone or damaging property. The same principles apply off duty. Going on vacation? Get adequate rest and ensure your cars been inspected. Getting out on the water? Knowing how to swim and keeping a personal floatation device handy are a must. All recreational activities require some preparation. Assess the situation, weigh the risk, and make the right decision at the right time. Take care of one another. Your actions can make a difference. pre-planni- Photo by Senior Airman Bnan Bahret An Olympic flight Alex 421st Capt. Grynkewich, Fighter Squadron pilot, walks Mitt Romney, Salt Lake Committee Organizing president and chief executive officer for the 2002 Olympic winter a examination of an Capt. Grynkewich flew Mr. Romney games, through on an orientation flight. Mr. Romney was the guest speaker at the Earth Week rally held in the 419th Fighter Wings maintenance hangar April 24. pre-flig- ht F-1- 6. By Airman 1st Class Cindy Huston 388th Fighter Wing Public Affairs "en and women from the 4th Fighter 1 Squadron spent time away from their families Friday evening to .Lhelp serve dinner to the homeless the Ogden Rescue Mission. people at The 4th FS has been volunteering at the mission since their return from Operation Southern Watch two months ago. Approximately 11 to 1 6 people volunteered at the mission early Friday night to serve dinner to the homeless of Ogden and clean up afterward. like to set up activities to encourage peoin ple the squadron to get involved in the community, said Master Sgt. Collette Geiss, 4th Fighter Squadron first sergeant. We wanted to come up with a volunteer activity that could get the younger troops involved with the community. For some of the airmen this is not the first time they have volunteered at a homeless 1 I enjoy volunteering. It makes me feel good and the people are interesting, said Airman 1 st Class Ken Dilley, 4th FS information management . Overall I am very impressed with the shelter, said Airman Dilley. They are well organized, very generous with their food portions and the people who work there have made the shelter a comfortable place for the transients to stay. Through their work at the shelter, the 4th FS has adopted the do unto others what you would want others to do unto you attitude. Its everyones civic duty to get out into the community and volunteer, added Sergeant Geiss. Any one of us could end up in the same situation as these people. We would like to think there would be someone out there to help us if that should ever happen. Photos by 1st Lt. Enn Shuler Above, Lisa Leenders, 4th Fighter Squadron secretary, and Master Sgt. Mike Peffer, 75th Transportation Squadron vehicle maintenance superintendent, serve trays of food to patrons at the Ogden Rescue Mission. People from the 4th FS volunteered at the mission helping serve dinner and cleaning the mission. Above right, Airman 1st Class Marlon Smith, 4 FS weapons loader, washes dishes at the mission. Right, Tech. Sgt. Christopher Roland, 4th Fighter Squadron assistant specialist section chief, mops the floor after serving dinner at the mission. The 388th Fighter Wing is working with for Humanity May 13 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. To volunteer with this project, tact your unit Hidden con-Habi- tat Hero representative. , ng |