Wing safety programs in excellent shape Published Dec. 2, 2011 By Sandra Pishner 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs MCCHORD FIELD, Wash. -- "Prepare and prevent, don't repair and repent." - Author Unknown The 446th Airlift Wing's Safety Office has little to repair and nothing to repent, according to the results of an Air Force Reserve Command Safety Evaluation. The command safety evaluation team arrived at McChord Field Nov. 29 to inspect the wing's Flight, Ground, Weapons and Risk Management programs. The team of five inspectors, lead by Van Leffler, found a safety program built on a foundation of outstanding commander support. "Not only is there great support from the commanders in this wing, but from the Reservists as well," said Leffler. "This is one of my favorite Associate units to evaluate because of professionalism and strict adherence to Air Force standards." The Flight Safety program received no findings, and the wing's flying squadrons were commended for complying with requirements before they were requirements. Squadron commanders voluntarily assigned flight safety officers, years prior to being an AFI requirement, according to the assessment report. The report also noted that Lt. Col. Kevin Welin, wing chief of safety, and Lt. Col. Russell Parker, flight safety officer, were accomplishing all requirements and going above and beyond in most. Ground Safety, headed by Senior Master Sgt. Dave Ponce, was commended for having a staff that is highly knowledgeable, engaged and motivated. While the AFRC team did identify two findings in the Ground Safety and one in the Weapons Safety areas, each was minor and mainly paperwork driven or administrative. The 446th Civil Engineer Squadron's ground safety program was commended for its safety training and tracking system. The developers and key designers of the safety tracking system are Master Sgt. Nathan Wright and Tech. Sgt. Lazare Quintana. "This system works so well that AFRC considers it a best practice and will make it available to other wings to use," said Welin. "Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety." - William Shakespeare