KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- The Directors of Safety from U.S. Air Force Central Command and Air Combat Command visited Kandahar Airfield recently in order to better understand the mission of the units here and the challenges faced in regards to safety.
Their visit was to prepare for an Oct. 27 board in which Lt. Gen. Mike Hostage, AFCENT commander, will review the highest level of hazards to see whether or not to accept risks or prioritize funding for a mission to fix those risks.
"As AFCENT Safety, we need to know all the different challenges and hazards so that we can either accept the risks or mitigate the risks so we can prosecute the war," said Col. Lonny Beal, AFCENT Director of Safety.
"We're here to educate ourselves on what they're up against as far as safety," said Col. Alan Marshall, ACC Director of Safety. "We don't have an overabundance of either, so if we lose people or resources because of preventable mishaps, then we won't have that resource or that person to execute the fight."
Once a safety board identifies hazards and gets them rectified or figures out methods by which they can be minimized, they give commanders the information they need to make decisions on mitigation and risk management as the goal is to figure out ways in which to continue preserving combat capability and protect personnel from preventable mishaps.
"We partner with the wing commander for his views and perspectives as he tells us what he thinks is a priority," Colonel Beal said.
"Those decisions can be balanced as we see - whether it's the placement of explosives or what's surrounding them and the acceptance of those risks in the surrounding environment," he said. "So, we're always working with the wing commander and taking his inputs and working that through the chain of command."
The Safety team also investigates safety mishaps by working with convening authorities from other major commands. Whoever owns the asset comes out with an investigations officer to figure out what happened, why it happened and what can be done to prevent it from reoccurring.
It is no secret this is a very challenging environment in which to conduct operations.
There are constant changes in the local surrounding environments. People are operating on construction sites almost all the time. The U.S. Air Force cannot control every activity that occurs on the installation as other coalition partners and civilian contractors work here as well.
"It's a dynamic environment," Colonel Marshall said. "That's why it's so important to have an active safety staff and go out daily 24/7 and identify risks as they occur, and then make sure that the command chain can make the appropriate actions."
Both colonels said they were impressed by the teamwork, professionalism and commitment the Airmen have to the mission here on Kandahar.
"They're really doing an outstanding job and I'm just proud to be associated with an organization that's doing what we're doing," Colonel Marshall said.