JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- The Air Force is refining its approach to safety as an integral part of daily operations to maintain safety standards and a ready force to enhance warfighting advantage and advance theater posture.
The approach is part of Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin’s Integrating Risk and Readiness campaign.
“As we reoptimize for Great Power Competition, infusing risk management and operational discipline into all facets of planning, preparation, execution, and assessment is imperative across all missions and environments,” Allvin said.
Maj. Gen. Sean Choquette, Department of the Air Force chief of safety and commander of the Air Force Safety Center, visited the Pacific Air Forces headquarters to meet with PACAF, U.S. Space Force leaders, and joint partners to understand safety concerns in the Indo-Pacific command. Additionally, he met with the PACAF safety office, safety chiefs, and safety professionals from around the command to speak about new safety initiatives.
To operationalize safety, the initiative is embedding risk management into every aspect of training, planning, and execution. This includes incorporating risk management modules into all levels of training, from basic military training to leadership development programs.
"Safety is operations," Choquette said. "We don't do safety just for safety's sake. We do safety to increase combat power."
The safety campaign is working to revise operating instructions to emphasize safety and to instill risk management principles in every Airman. The goal is to foster a culture where Airmen instinctively consider safety in every decision, from flying missions to driving on base.
In the Pacific, where the Air Force operates in a complex and dynamic environment, safety is paramount. By integrating safety into every aspect of operations, PACAF can enhance mission effectiveness, reduce downtime, and improve overall readiness.
"We want to make risk management as natural as putting on a seatbelt," Choquette said. “Here in PACAF, because the theater of operations is so vast, having capable Airmen working in relatively small teams in new locations can bring risk. The opportunity to influence how we educate and train our Airmen will give them the skill set and tools to better manage risk at their level while they’re executing the mission.”
While acknowledging the challenges of balancing safety with operational tempo, Choquette stressed that a safety-conscious force is a more effective force.
By focusing on risk management and operationalizing safety, the Air Force aims to reduce accidents and incidents, preserving personnel and equipment. This, in turn, helps Airmen meet higher standards of performance and readiness.
"We're working to operate smarter; a safer force is a more confident force, better equipped to execute the mission," Choquette said. “Preserving combat capability in the form of weapon systems and personnel, we deny the adversary the ability to see cracks in our formation, and we keep a more capable force. That's what leads to deterrence."
Choquette also highlighted the importance of joint and coalition safety efforts. As the Air Force operates increasingly with partners, ensuring shared safety standards and practices is crucial.
“This visit has really underscored for me the importance of joint and coalition operations, Choquette said. “Our allies and partners are integral to our success and having all of us on the same page from a safety and risk perspective, will lead to mission success.”
The Air and Space Forces Chief of Safety’s visit to PACAF brought forward the importance of tailoring safety initiatives to regional challenges. By making safety an integral part of daily operations, PACAF creates a safer and resilient force even more capable of defending the homeland and reinforcing allies and partners.
To learn more about the Air Force Safety Center, on-going safety efforts and the Integrating Risk and Readiness campaign, please visit their website, https://www.safety.af.mil/Risk-Management/Integrating-Risk-and-Readiness/