Dealing With the Unexpected Crisis

As I write this article in January, I see a foot of snow on the ground in the St. Louis area. Among other hazards, snow on the road leads to traffic events, as my wife recently experienced. Despite all of her preparations, another driver ran a red light and ran into the vehicle she was driving. Thankfully, her injuries were minor, but now we are experiencing all the joys of dealing with tow trucks, insurance, and rental cars. As we reviewed the situation in the context of Integrating Risk and Readiness, some thoughts came to mind. She was going to a dental appointment that could have been postponed. Perhaps postponing the appointment would have resulted in someone else being in this situation. I did postpone an appointment the following week during the second wave of snow.

In Air Mobility Command (AMC), we see too many off-duty fatalities, roughly one-half with four-wheel vehicles and one-half with motorcycles. A common debrief statement I have heard after motorcycle events is, “The rider did everything right; they had the right training and the right protective gear, but they just weren’t seen by the other vehicle.” It occurred to me that we often go about our lives as prepared as we can be, but we neglect to factor in other drivers’ situations and their potential lack of preparation or attention. At AMC, we are moving to what we call the next phase of Integrating Risk and Readiness. However, sometimes we must set aside lofty plans and review our immediate situation and tasks to minimize losses and thus retain capabilities—not just for our mission but for all aspects of life.