Since 2012, the Department of the Air Force has partnered with OSHA in the Safe + Sound week campaign. This partnership encourages members to maintain a culture where safety is an operational priority that directly supports mission readiness. The use of the Safe + Sound campaign elements in the workplace help prevent injuries that take personnel out of the fight and ensure safety programs and processes are maintained and ready for every mission.

This year’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s annual Safe + Sound campaign runs from August 10-16. This nationwide campaign helps workplaces focus on proactive safety, bringing employees and employers together to identify and eliminate hazards before harm occurs.

Safe + Sound was built on three core elements designed to be flexible enough for both industrial settings and military operational environments.

Management Leadership element: Ensures resources, time and authority are allocated to safety programs and is a top-down commitment from employers, commanders and senior leaders showing personnel it is not a check-box core value, but a commitment to support safety and health programs and encourage employees to do the same.

Worker Participation element: Leverages the frontline expertise of workers performing the mission in identifying and reporting risks and hazards leadership might miss. By involving workers from the onset of building safety programs and finding potential hazards associated with their workplaces can make them feel invested.

Find and Fix Hazards element: Is a systematic approach to identifying, evaluating, and controlling workplace dangers that can directly reduce mishaps and preserve combat capability. By using a proactive approach and staying on top of emerging technologies, processes and training new workers on hazards before they cause an injury or illness, is far more effective.

One of the Department of the Air Force’s operational risks is complacency.When personnel become overly familiar with dangerous tasks (e.g., flight line operations, munitions handling or any job), the focus on safety can slip. In fiscal year 2025, the DAF saw 4,032 on-duty injuries with aircraft maintenance at the top incurring 768 total injuries.

The Safe + Sound campaign combats complacency by encouraging members to participate in challenges like "Crisis Communication," “Find 4” or “Safety Shout-Out” empowering members at all levels to halt operations if they spot a hazard and keeps the safety mindset at the forefront of the mission. The operational readiness of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force relies heavily on individual safety, discipline, and training. By strictlyadhering to safety standardsduring decisive training, Airmen and Guardians preserve critical combat capabilities, increase aircraft availability, and minimize preventable mishaps. Ultimately, prioritizing workplace safety directly safeguards our most valuable military assets, ensuring both branches maintain thecombined strength and lethalityrequired to deter adversaries and win future conflicts.

By accepting the challenges members can identify ways to communicate when natural disasters occur and whether to evacuate, stay put or wait for further instructions. Getting workers involved gives them the opportunity to expand on crisis communications and refine or build escape plans to follow. It is also the perfect time to review and update safety programs, evaluate your workplace for hazards, and if you find a hazard, fix it or report it to someone who can.

“Promoting workplace safety is a job everyone is qualified to do, and every member is responsible for building a safe workplace and safety culture,” said Keith Lear, chief, DAF Occupational Safety, Air Force Safety Center. “When we work together as a team to find and fix hazards, we make sure that we all go home safely.”

To get involved in the DAF’s Safe + Sound campaign challenges check out the website: https://www.safety.af.mil/Divisions/Occupational-Safety-Division/Safe-Sound/

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