Safety From the Inside Out: Insights From the 2025 AMC Safety Conference
By Ms. Lauren Fosnot, Staff Writer
“Safety is a combat discipline,” remarked Col John B. Kelley, Director of Safety for Air Mobility Command (AMC). “It maintains and magnifies combat capabilities, allowing Airmen to identify risks, mitigate them, and move out.”
That sentiment set the tone for the 2025 AMC Safety Conference, held in Collinsville, IL, where leaders across the U.S. Air Force (USAF) gathered to determine how to weave safety into the fabric of operations more deeply. Across all echelons of leadership, each voice reinforced the same message: safety is not a sideline concern—it is a force multiplier, enabling Airmen to act faster, smarter, and with greater precision.
Much like this very magazine, the conference did not just serve to inform—it was a forum for dialogue. Leaders and Airmen brought up important questions:
- How do we make safety second nature?
- How do we equip young Airmen to make real-time risk decisions in dynamic environments?
- Why can safety mindsets shift when deployed?
- How do we create cultural changes that last?
- How do we adapt our safety strategies for an increasingly agile force?
- What empowers Airmen to voice safety concerns?
To help answer these challenges, senior leaders across AMC stepped forward to share insights, direction, and strategy.
One of the most prominent voices was AMC Commander, Gen John D. Lamontagne, who called for a full cultural transformation.
“What I’m looking to do is fundamentally change the culture so that Airmen naturally have a risk management approach in mind,” he said. “If there’s something we can provide to help codify what that looks like, fantastic.”
The Commander outlined a multifaceted approach to strengthen both risk awareness and overall readiness. He emphasized the importance of integrating risk awareness operationally—not just after a mishap, but before—and reflected on how recent readiness surges have affected resources, retention, and planning.
Lamontagne made it clear that he views safety professionals as trusted advisors. Their presence is critical during both prevention efforts and post-incident responses.
“I expected and wanted them [safety professionals] in my office—whether it was first thing in the morning or when something big happened,” he noted, emphasizing the open-door relationship he maintained with them.
At the heart of the Commander’s message was a return to values like standards and discipline—in appearance as well as in action. He defined discipline as knowing the right way to do things and having the integrity to follow through, especially when no one is watching. He added that knowing why a job matters is often what drives real commitment.
Lamontagne also emphasized the growing importance of digital infrastructure in enabling effective operations.
“Connectivity is the key to helping us mitigate threats,” he noted. “Resourcing that strategy that our predecessors put in place is among our highest priorities.”
Brig Gen Douglas Jackson, Deputy Director of Operations, Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration at Headquarters (HQ) AMC, also highlighted the importance of proactive safety as the USAF moves into complex operational environments. He stressed the importance of utilizing data and leaning on the crucial role of safety professionals.
Maj Gen Charles Bolton, representing the 18th Air Force, added a candid assessment of current operations and future initiatives. His priorities included transparent communication around readiness and empowering leaders to identify unnecessary risks.
Other leaders highlighted how the USAF’s shift to new organizational constructs—such as the Air Task Force and Deployable Combat Wing—will introduce new challenges for the safety enterprise. Mr. Christopher R. Davis, Deputy Chief of the Safety Issues Division at HQ USAF, and Col Royce M. Lippert, Director of Mobility Operations at the 618th Air Operations Center, outlined what it will take to adapt.
Many other leaders contributed to these conversations. Taking the time to speak openly and engage directly showed AMC leaders’ commitment to shaping a more responsive, risk-aware force. In addition to leadership insights, the conference welcomed outside experts to broaden the safety conversation.
A guest speaker from NASA drew a compelling parallel between space exploration and military operations, highlighting how both environments continually push the limits of human performance. One unexpected takeaway: the extra thirty-seven minutes in a Martian day can significantly disrupt circadian rhythm—proof that even subtle environmental changes can impact safety and readiness.
Other sessions examined human performance through a variety of lenses, including psychological safety and strategies for managing fatigue, such as sleep countermeasures. The Mobility Forum team led a session on communication tools for reinforcing safety lessons, showing how storytelling taps into the brain’s natural memory systems to make key messages more memorable. From operations risk assessment and management to drone operations to KC-46 updates, the conference looked at safety across the board, tackling a wide range of topics.
A recurring theme throughout the conference was that safety exists to guide behavior, not restrict it. Rather than hindering action, safety enables smarter, faster decisions in complex environments. This perspective is needed as the Air Force shifts toward new command structures and empowers younger, less-tenured leaders.
This evolving landscape demands a cultural shift, and the tone of the conference reflected a force not only ready for change—but actively leading it. AMC is not treating safety culture as a checklist item. Instead, the structure, content, and conversations at the conference revealed a deeper transformation: the push to make safety an integrated, intuitive part of daily operations.
No single event can answer every question, but this one asked the right ones. Through shared insights, practical tools, and honest dialogue, the groundwork for lasting cultural change is firmly in motion.
The future fight will demand optimized mobility—and that begins with Airmen who are equipped and empowered to think safely in every mission.
As Mr. Davis stated, “Mobility is the oxygen that [the Department of Defense] breathes. Nothing we do happens without all of you and the mission sets that you have in your command—nothing. And that isn’t going to change anytime soon.”
That mission-ready mindset starts with culture. From the inside out, AMC is shaping a force in which safety is second nature—not second thought.