An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Safety locks up uniforms

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt Emily F. Alley
  • 451st AEW Public Affairs
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --  As the sun began to set on July 7, members of the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing's safety office stepped into the rocky yard of Camp Lasano, an Air Force compound at Kandahar Airfield. They were working together to complete a box to collect discarded or unserviceable uniforms from redeploying Air Force members.

The office recently discovered several sets of uniforms, a name tape, as well as a flight suit and maintenance coveralls in the dumpster outside Camp Lasano and wanted to give Airmen another option for discarding them in the future.

Individuals have been known to search dumpsters, which sit in a dark, unsupervised parking lot at night. Discarded uniforms may fall into Taliban control.

Master Sergeant Daniel Williams, the flight safety noncommissioned officer in charge who found the uniforms, wanted to do something to keep them out of Camp Lasano's dumpsters in the future.

He designed a large wooden box that he plans to position in a busy area of the compound. The idea is that the box is accessible to the Airmen who work and live in the camp and nearby. Many of them do not have a vehicle readily available to drive to other areas of the airfield to turn in uniforms.

"Say you have someone, it's their last day here and their bags are too heavy. They have an hour to pack and don't have a vehicle, where's that stuff going to go?" said Williams.

While he does not justify dropping uniforms in the trash, Williams wanted to offer a better solution.

"There are bad guys who want to kill us and if we give them access to uniforms their job is easier," he said. "If the Taliban wear those uniforms it gives them a greater freedom of movement."

There is already a sign over the trash bins of the Camp Lasano parking lot that warns against throwing uniforms in the trash. By putting a uniform collection bin in a central, well-lit area it will become harder for discarded uniforms to be misused.

All uniform items can be deposited without consequences for those who want to avoid the excess baggage it would create carrying them back to the United States.

"If it stops just one uniform from getting in the trash it's worth it," said Tech. Sgt. Brian Rice from the 451st AEW safety office as he brushed thick gray paint over the plywood box.

The box was painted to resemble a safe and to recall an acronym of the program's slogan, "Saving Airmen from the enemy."

"I thought that was kinda catchy, operation uniform SAFE," said Williams. "I came up with the idea and everybody started pitching in, helping out."

Williams designed the box and helped build it with help from 451st AEW civil engineers, who let the safety office use power tools and paintbrushes. He plans to use a set of padlocks to keep the box locked.

The box may only be made of plywood, but hopefully it will remind Airmen to think safe.