Army Safety Center becomes Combat Readiness Center

FORT RUCKER, Ala. (Army News Service, Feb. 9, 2005) - The Army Safety Center has been recast as the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center by order of Secretary of the Army Dr. Francis J. Harvey.

Harvey directed the change to advance the principles, understanding, and practice of Composite Risk Management. Combat Risk Management will focus on sustaining readiness and managing all risks - those posed by the enemy, the environment, materiel and systems, and human error - logically shifting from accident-centric to Soldier-centric.

Transformation of the Army Safety Center to the Combat Readiness Center supports Army transformation and supports the Global War on Terrorism, said Brig. Gen. Joseph A. Smith, the center's commander.

"The change is intended to move beyond the old concept of 'safety' which had become viewed by many Soldiers as an occasional action rather than a constant foundation for all other activities," Smith said.

"In some cases, Soldiers do not grasp the outcome of being unsafe until 'one of their own' is involved - recognizing, too late, the consequences of the accidental loss in making the unit less prepared, lowering its readiness, and potentially putting the unit mission at risk," Smith said.

The USACRC will function as a field operating agency of the Army chief of staff.

Safety remains a foundational component of the new organization, officials said. They said the Army Safety Office, located in Washington, D.C. becomes the "front door" of Army Safety by focusing on the compliance aspects and reinforcing the use of Composite Risk Management as a tool to help prevent all loss.

The United States Army Combat Readiness Center will establish new processes leveraging information from Army organizations to collect, distill and distribute knowledge about losses that impact combat readiness, officials said. The center's mission includes:

. Primary responsibility for investigation of Army accidents.

. Focal point for instigating the necessary cultural changes and developing the processes, structure, and training necessary to Composite Risk Management Army-wide.

. Development of predictive trend analysis using digital technology and data mining in order to identify loss trends and preventive measures.

The Army Combat Readiness Center will enhance safety by providing the Army with a "close-the-loop system" of information about losses, officials said. They said the new center will capture the analytical expertise of all loss-related professionals - safety and combat - to provide commanders, across the Army, with actionable knowledge about any loss.

(Editor's note: Information provided by news release.)