Army strives to keep soldiers safe, “Bring Safety Home.” The fatalities are mainly as a result of vehicle accidents.

....Unlike the case with civilian employers, parents and spouses expect this duty and responsibility of care from our military commanders — the vital task of providing proper guidance and providing a safe environment for their sons, daughters, husbands and wives. A commander's safety program is just one of the resources for keeping soldiers safe. Safety officers are assigned directly by commanders and are charged with providing advice and implementing necessary program elements.

The safety officer, similar to a civilian safety manager, conducts workplace inspections and improvements, resolves safety recommendations, conducts safety training for all employees and investigates accidents. The safety officer also provides the commander with the soldiers' feedback and concerns on how to improve safety. They implement additional programs under the commander's directives and guidance for field and combat operation safety programs and off-duty safety awareness.

Army North's Army Safety Program is clearly evident as we conduct training, as was the case recently during our Vibrant Response exercise in Indiana and Kentucky. Vibrant Response was an Army North-led Department of Defense exercise that involved more than 9,000 military and civilian responders from local, state and federal agencies conducting what is known as Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Response Enterprise.

Because safety for all of these forces was such a concern, the commander brought 12 additional safety professionals from across the nation to provide oversight during this month long, hands-on, technical exercise. Due to such an emphasis on safety concerns, there were no major accidents and no OSHA-recordable injuries.

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