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WHY IS THE SAFETY COMPONENT OF PROTECTION IMPORTANT?

TOPIC: WARTIME LOSSES.

DISCUSSION: Accidents exact a far greater toll on Army operations than most people realize. FM 25-101, Battle Focused Training, states that "Historically, more casualties occur in combat due to accidents than from enemy action." Accidents have caused more casualties than the enemy has in every war in this century except for the Korean War. What does this mean to you as a leader in today's Total Army? It means that accidents, that are usually preventable, reduce your ability to complete the mission.

BATTLE AND NONBATTLE CASUALTIES

RATE PER 1,000 SOLDIERS (PERCENT) *


ARMY		WWII		KOREA		VIETNAM		DS/S

     		1942-45		1950-53		1965-72		1990-91



ACCIDENT	95.57		120.33		154.66		11.14

		(56%)		(44%)		(54%)		(75%)



FRIENDLY	1.50**		3.03**		2.67**		.68

FIRE		(1%)		(1%)		(1%)		(5%)



ENEMY		73.61		148.56		131.20		2.90

ACTION
		(43%)		(55%)		(45%)		(20%)

* Per 12 months for WWII, Korea, and Vietnam; 14 months for Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM.
** Research-based estimate (2% of all direct- and indirect-fire losses).

Figure 1

Unfortunately, accidents do not just happen in a combat theater; they occur every day as we prepare to be a total force trained and ready to fight, serving the nation at home and abroad -- a strategic force capable of decisive victory.

LESSON(S):

  • Safety awareness and accident prevention must be ingrained into the thinking of all soldiers and leaders.

  • Prevention of accidents significantly improves the unit's warfighting capability.

  • Include force protection (safety) in all planning for training exercises and operations

  • Identify accidents "waiting to happen" and take measures to prevent them.

TOPIC: WIN WITH MINIMAL LOSSES.

DISCUSSION:

"WARS ARE FOUGHT WITH HUMAN BEINGS. THE COMMANDER CANNOT BE TOO CAREFUL OF THE PEOPLE THAT THE NATION HAS COMMITTED TO HIS CHARGE.

COMMANDERS AT ALL LEVELS MUST EMBRACE SAFETY AS A PRINCIPAL ELEMENT IN ALL THEY DO. SUSTAINED, HIGH TEMPO OPERATIONS THAT RUN CONTINUOUSLY DAY AND NIGHT IN ALL EXTREMES OF TERRAIN AND WEATHER IN VIRTUALLY ANY REGION OF THE WORLD PUT SOLDIERS AT RISK.

STRONG COMMAND AND HIGH LEVELS OF DISCIPLINE AND TRAINING MITIGATE AGAINST THOSE RISKS. SAFE PROCEDURES ARE A SKILL, A PRODUCT OF ENFORCED STANDARDS AND TRAINING.

WHEN SAFETY IS INTEGRAL TO BATTLE-FOCUSED TRAINING AS FORCE PROTECTION, SAFE PROCEDURES IN COMBAT ARE A NATURAL CONSEQUENCE.

SAFETY IN TRAINING, PLANNING, AND OPERATIONS IS CRUCIAL TO COMBAT OPERATIONS AND THE PRESERVATION OF COMBAT POWER." --FM 101-5, Staff Organization and Operations

Force Protection (Safety) in Operations

The objective of safety is to help units protect combat power through accident prevention which will enable them to win fast and decisively, with minimum losses. Safety begins with readiness, and readiness determines a unit's ability to perform its mission essential task list (METL) to standard. Readiness standards which should be addressed during METL assessment are:

  • Individual soldiers with the self-discipline to consistently perform tasks to standard.
  • Leaders who are ready, willing, and able to enforce standards.
  • Training that provides skills needed for performance to standard.
  • Standards and procedures for task performance that are clear and practical.
  • Support for task performance, including required equipment, personnel, maintenance, facilities, and services.

Ready units are prepared to perform combat functions to standard while executing their METL.

These functions provide organization and direction to the performance of soldiers (man) and equipment (machine) on the battlefield (operational environment). Combat functions produce the combat power needed when soldiers and equipment perform to standard in the operational environment:

  • Soldier errors are minimized.
  • Equipment failures are minimized.
  • Negative effects of the environment on performance of soldiers and equipment are minimized.

Efficient and effective performance leads to fully successful operations that are characterized by the tenets. This produces the desired result of winning fast, winning decisively, and with minimal losses.

On the other hand, units that are not ready leads to performance that is below standard, and less than fully successful operations that are not characterized by the tenets. Win, lose, or draw, more losses are self-inflicted by accidents than are inflicted by the enemy. This happens when the safety element of force protection is not fully integrated into operations.

LESSON(S):

  • Include the safety element of protection in the unit METL assessment.
  • Ensure that individual soldiers are trained to standard and self-disciplined enough to perform tasks to standard.
  • Leaders must enforce standards at all times.
  • Ensure that all soldiers and subordinate leaders know and understand the standard.
  • Leaders must provide the necessary equipment, time, and other resources so that soldiers can be trained safely.

VIGNETTE

DURING CONVOY OPERATIONS, THE DRIVER OF A DUMP TRUCK APPLIED THE BRAKES IN RESPONSE TO A SUDDEN STOP OF THE VEHICLE IN FRONT. THE BRAKES MALFUNCTIONED, RESULTING IN A COLLISION. THE DRIVER HAD FAILED TO PROPERLY CONDUCT PMCS BEFORE THE CONVOY.

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