Photo by Spc. Chad Seibold/108th ADA Bde. PAO Joe Hafner, an accident investigator for the Fort Bragg Installation Safety Office, painted in verbal detail what happens to the body during a high speed impact when what will go wrong does, to a group of Soldiers at the 108th ADA Brigade Safety Day.

Nearly 1,000 Spartans descended upon the 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade’s consolidated motor pool for Safety Day right before heading into the Memorial Day weekend.
Soldiers representing 108th ADA Bde. Headquarters and Headquarters Battery as well as 3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment broke into groups and rotated through stations covering eight safety topics: fire, swimming/water sports, motorcycle and all-terrain vehicles, suicide prevention, heat injury, defensive driving, boating and sexually transmitted disease prevention.
Colonel Christopher Spillman, brigade commander, walked amongst the Soldiers, listened intently and asked questions. At the defensive driving station Spillman told Soldiers, “Pay attention here. We lose a lot of Soldiers to car wrecks.”

Joe Hafner, an accident investigator with the Fort Bragg Installation Safety Office, wasted no time painting a gruesome mental picture of how seemingly simple, stupid decisions have catastrophic and horrifying repercussions.

Don’t wear a seat belt. Drive with even a little alcohol in your system. Push the limits of your vehicle. “You may be the only one that survives the crash that you caused, but your life may as well be over, because you’re going to jail,” said Hafner with a seriousness that comes from years of seeing the consequences of bad judgment.

Bad decisions behind the wheel are not the only thing that can be fatal. Kenneth Ferrell, chief of Epidemiology and Disease Control within the Department of Preventative Medicine at Womack Army Medical Center, hopes to save lives through education.

“Syphilis in its advanced stages causes cancer,” said Ferrell. “Why put your life at risk?” he asked.

Sexually-transmitted diseases are on the rise because risky sexual behavior is on the rise. Multiple partners. One night stands. No condoms or protective barriers. Simply turning on the lights before having sex with someone new can save you.

“Look at what you’re about to get into; PMCS (preventive maintenance checks and services) that guy or girl,” said Ferrell.

Even if you don’t participate in high risk behavior, protect yourself from even the most common Army enemy — dehydration. Becoming a heat casualty during the summer is easier that you think. Heading to the beach for a little fun in the sun? Boating, swimming, motorcycling, and even consuming alcohol around a fire; all these things can drain you of water quickly and take you out of the game if you do not pay attention.

Alcohol was the common safety concern among those who briefed the Soldiers. For many Soldiers, the recipe for fun always seems to involve alcohol. For those who are called upon to clean up unfortunate incidences, they noted that alcohol is definitely a key ingredient.
In addition, suicide prevention was stressed at the safety day.

Suicide seems like a solution to those who choose it, but it is really just giving up on solving the problem. The Army Suicide Prevention Program is a tutoring program meant to help Soldiers solve the problem the right way. Soldiers should remember, there is always a solution.

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