SO what is it? A stand down is a method used by the military to correct an issue that has been identified as a problem throughout its ranks. As long as one person gets injured, a near miss occurs or even "it almost happened," we have something that needs to be addressed. We overlook safety, not because we don't care but because of the "it'll never happen to us" syndrome.
Preparedness is a large part of Safety। Mark Attuso, Safety Officer, invited Richard "Rick" Weber of the Office of Emergency Preparedness to talk with our squadron about preparedness and what he envisions our role to be in coordination with his office during a disaster. Rick reports that the imagery obtained after the hurricanes in the past were and still are being used and this is the type of thing he really sees C.A.P. working with them on.
John Welds who frequently handles the job of Flight Line Marshal during missions spoke about flight line safety। He pointed out how important the "F।O.B. Walk" or Foreign Object Debris removal is. Even the smallest pebble can damage propellers.
Finally, Mark and Ken Brummett took some cadets for a ride on the Bárány chair to demonstrate the effect of disorientation. Once an aircraft enters conditions where the pilot can no longer see a distinct visual horizon, he/she becomes disoriented, no longer able to discern rates of turn or axis, these errors can eventually result in loss of control of the aircraft, usually in a steep, diving turn known as a graveyard spiral, all the while believing he/she is in complete control of the aircraft.
Mark did an excellent job putting together this "Safety Stand Down" meeting. Let us all remember: "Semper Vigilans"
