Vance, AETC, Air Force wrap up 101 Critical Days of Summer

  • Published
  • By Capt. Tony Wickman
  • Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Vance closed out another year of summer safety with zero fatalities, but the numbers across the command and the Air Force were not as encouraging.

In all 19 Airman lost their lives in 2007, up from 17 in 2006. Nine of the fatalities this year were assigned to AETC units. Vehicle and motorcycle mishaps were the leading cause of fatalities, with nearly all of the accidents or mishaps occurring while the Airmen were off duty.

Contributing factors in several of the accidents included failing to wear or use proper safety equipment, driving too fast for road/weather conditions and poor decisions.

According to Col. Richard Klumpp, Jr., the success Vance had in keeping Airman safe was a total Team Vance effort.

"The success we had during the 2007 101 Critical Days is a testament to the hard work done by the supervisors and individual Team Vance members to keep safety in their forethoughts on and off duty," the colonel said. "Their actions ensured we were able to meet the wing's mission and continue to train the best pilots the world has ever seen."

The 71st Flying Training Wing Safety office reported 11 incidents during this period, including two Class D and one Class C mishaps. Of the 11 incidents, eight occurred during off duty hours and were mostly sports or vehicle operations related.

A Class D mishap is any nonfatal injury or occupational illness that does not meet the definition of lost time. Lost time counts the number of days the employee was unable to work as a result of the injury or illness, regardless of whether or not the person was scheduled to work on those days.

A Class C mishap is a direct mishap cost totaling $20,000 or more but less than $200,000 or any injury or occupational illness or disease that causes loss of one or more days away from work beyond the day or shift it occurred.

Colonel Klumpp's goal for the remainder of his command tour is simple, but important.

"One of the great things I heard at my change of command was when Colonel Benson turned to Maj. Gen. Rogers and told him that he was returning all the people and planes that were assigned to him without a loss. That is my goal when I relinquish command - to return all the people and planes without a single Class A accident or mishap or loss of life," he said. "I know we have lost some of our valued Team Vance members due to natural causes, but together we can prevent any loss due to controllable factors."

While the success of the summer at Vance is notable, by no means should that mean Team Vance members should ease up on their safety vigilance, said George Wagner, 71st FTW weapons safety manager.

"Commanders, supervisors and individual members at Vance must continue to be vigilant to prevent accidents or incidents on and off duty," he said. "Every Team Vance member must use prudent caution, advance planning and risk assessment. Doing so provides the best chance to avoid needless loss of life or limb."