Helping Holloman be the friendliest, safest place on Earth Published July 16, 2007 By Maj. Robert Noonan 49th Fighter Wing chief of safety HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- My goal as the 49th Fighter Wing chief of safety is to not only have Holloman known as the friendliest place on Earth, but hopefully the safest as well. My family and I have been here for a year, we live on base, we attend church here, our kids go to school here, etc., so we are full blown members of the Holloman community. When it comes to safety on Holloman, like you, we are stakeholders and if a safety deficiency affects you and your family, it probably also affects me, my staff and the wing commander as well. I'm very excited about taking over the 49 FW Safety Office at this critical juncture in Holloman's history. As F-117A operations wind down over the next year, we still have enduring operations that will continue: deployments continue; test, German Air Force and other colleagues still operate, all while the wing maintains combat capability in the F-117 to the very end of its tenure and prepares for the arrival of the F-22A. Considering these factors, I see the 49 FW Safety Office mission as boiling down to three areas of focus: · 100 percent compliance with local, 12th Air Force, Air Combat Command and Air Force safety directives · Being 100 percent prepared for any safety related contingency and · Continually sounding the safety "drumbeat" throughout the Holloman Community with relevant Safety information. One hundred percent compliance with Air Force level down to local level safety directives is not a choice, it is our job to know the directives that govern the safe operation of the equipment we operate and the safety of the people under our supervision. Full compliance with these directives does not just pass inspections, it saves lives. Unfortunately, most Safety directives are written as the result of accidents, some rules are "written in blood" as they say, lessons learned as a result of a serious accident or a fatality. Our second area of focus is to be fully prepared for any possible safety contingency that could occur on the base. Accidents are not the time to break out the books and figure out "What do we do now?" The last area of focus is canvassing the Holloman community with the latest and most relevant safety related issues so safety awareness is always high. While Safety is ultimately a commander's program, the 49 FW Safety Office is the eyes and ears of the wing commander and we are standing by to assist all personnel on base when it comes to safety related issues. Fortunately, our wing leadership is intimately involved in the safety process and, as of late, has become concerned about a rash of recent accidents we have had on base. Recently, a young Airman flipped his pick-up truck near the fitness center and a six-year-old boy was struck by a car on First Street just to cite a few examples. While my staff and I try our best to be out and about on the base, we can't see everything, that is where you come in: If you see anything you think is dangerous on base or could stand to be made safer, please email us at 49fw.wingse@holloman.af.mil or call us at 572-3793.