Marines' Aggressive Safety Program Pays Off

[SR-25]

By U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Evan M. Eagan
II Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD)
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq, Sept. 23, 2005 — More than 400 service members have lost their lives in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom due to non-hostile incidents since March 2003.
Lt. Col. Walter W. Audsley, II Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD), director of safety, said vehicle roll overs are the number two cause of death to service members in Iraq.

“We have run approximately 300 missions, with only one incident and both the Marine and the vehicle were returned to service within days.”

Maj. Brian D. Kelly, commanding officer of Fox Company

Since II Marine Expeditionary Force (FWD) took command of Multi-National Force - West in March there has been a reduction in serious vehicle mishaps as well as negligent discharges, the third leading cause of death to service members, due in major part to units like Fox Company, 2nd Military Police Battalion, II MEF (FWD). Now, after more than six months in Iraq, their record speaks for itself.

“To date, Fox Company has traveled more than 220,000 miles, escorted more than 2,000 Iraqi Security Force personnel, more than 3,000 detainees transferred or released and escorted more than 11,000 third country national trucks,” said Maj. Brian D. Kelly, commanding officer of Fox Company. “We have run approximately 300 missions, with only one incident and both the Marine and the vehicle were returned to service within days.”

Due to the high center of gravity and the added weight of the up-armored humvees, the vehicles are more prone to roll over accidents. However, certain measures can be taken to eliminate these problems.

“We continually emphasize the importance of wearing seatbelts, both on and off the base,” said Audsley. “Many serious injuries and deaths could have been prevented had a seat belt been worn.”

For Staff Sgt. Brian Kornegay, 2nd squad leader, 3rd Platoon, Fox Company, 2nd MP Bn., II MEF (FWD), and his Marines, vehicle accidents and their prevention is on their minds at all times.

“I’ve seen quite a few accidents on the road from other units,” said Kornegay, who resides in Yakima, Wash. “Traffic accidents are the biggest threat on the roads. That is our biggest concern. Due to the fact we do a lot of driving at night, we are always aware of the dangers. We always put an emphasis on safety.”

Fox Company, a unit primarily made of reserve Marine tankers from Bravo Company, 4th Tank Battalion, 4th Marine Division from Yakima, has been conducting convoy escorts in Al Anbar province.

Preparing for a mission and knowing the possible dangers is very important for mission accomplishment, said Kornegay, who never lets his Marines leave Camp Fallujah without knowing the situation they are getting into.

“We do map recon and cross-talk with other units that have been in a particular area we are going to,” he said. “If a unit has been there, we ask them what to look out for such as road hazards like barriers. If we have a (pop-up) mission, we make sure we take breaks and change out the drivers so the same person isn’t driving every single night.”

Because there may be an abundance of service members operating in any given area of operation at any time, safety is an important issue.

“An aggressive ground safety program is always an important force preservation tool, but even more critical when operating in an environment like Al Anbar province,” said Audsley. “We have more than 30,000 service members conducting combat operations in MNF-W, an area roughly the size of North Carolina. Adherence to established safety procedures and risk assessing every mission is vital to bringing everyone home safely.”

Kornegay attributes their outstanding safety record to the level of maturity of Marines in the company.

“Our record reflects the maturity level of the Marines we have here,” he said. “A lot of our guys are college students who have been in the Corps a while. I think the average age here is a little older than the average fleet Marine. With that comes a little more life experience.”

Lance Cpl. Robert James, 21, a gunner with the company from Bremerton, Wash., believes safety is an obvious precaution.

“We go out of our way to make sure we are safe,” he said. “Weapons safety is big for us and maintenance has a lot to do with our success. A lot of the stuff we do seems to be common sense to me.”

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