Guard, Reserve officers gain safety expertise

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Mike R. Smith
  • I.G. Brown Training and Education Center
MCGHEE TYSON AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Tenn. --  About 60 Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command officers and safety experts met at the I.G. Brown Training and Education Center campus here this week for lessons on safety.

The Air Reserve Component Chief of Safety course addresses several training requirements that the officers use to manage their safety programs, said officials.

"The biggest thing is taking care of your base," said Senior Master Sgt. Eric Apelskog, senior NCO for the Air National Guard's Flight Safety.

Air Force chiefs of safety manage all safety aspects at a wing or base level. They supervise mishap prevention for a commander as well as promote a professional attitude toward safety.  There's ground and flight safety, risk management and weapons safety among their primary concerns.

"We teach them everything they need to run their safety programs," said Apelskog.
 
The course included about 34 presentations, in four days, on ground and flight safety topics as well as lessons on mishap investigation and others from more than a dozen speakers. Subject matter experts were representatives from the Air National Guard Readiness Center, the Air Force Reserve Command, the Air Force Safety Center and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Apelskog said that the training is mandatory for all chiefs of safety in the Air Force. This Reserve component version meets those criteria, with an added focus on the unique aspects of the Guard and Reserve.

This was the first time they held their training at the TEC. They met in Wingman Hall.