Deployed Airmen Focus on Safety

Published Nov. 3, 2009
By Senior Airman Stephen Linch
380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- As vehicles came through the different gates here, 380th Air Expeditionary Wing members held signs, passed out cards and spoke to personnel about the importance of safety at gates around the installation Nov. 3.

"Today we are implementing a safety program to reduce the amount of vehicle mishaps," said Tech. Sgt. Tanja Orwig, the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing ground safety manager.

Speaking of the negative impact of vehicle mishaps, Sergeant Orwig, who is deployed from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. said, vehicle damage is costly, and not having the vehicles while they are being repaired can be harmful to the mission.

Personnel can also be injured during vehicle mishaps, which can also be costly to the 380th AEW mission, she added.

Senior Airman Patisha Johnson, 380th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, saw the need for this program when a sign at one of the posts she was working, went from reading, 'Last vehicle mishap 17 days ago,' to, 'Last vehicle mishap zero days ago.'

Summing up the knowledge she wants people to gain from the program, the Orlando, Fla., native who is deployed from MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., said, "Safety is first, foremost and always."

The 380th AEW provides intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and aerial refueling in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Operations Iraqi Freedom, and Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa.