Director's Corner: Passing the Torch Published July 29, 2014 By Col Paul Murphy TMF Fall 2014 -- This will be my last Director's Corner as AMC Director of Safety. I am very proud to hand over the directorate helm to Col Mike Seiler, an absolutely outstanding mobility leader who will take the AMC Safety enterprise to the next level. During the past two years, operations have continued against the backdrop of the AOR drawdown, and now resurgence of tensions in both Europe and the Middle East. However, for AMC operations, tempo has never really slowed. As a command, we saw a serious spike in on-duty mishaps in 2013, most tragically with the loss of Shell 77, but also with two ground industrial on-duty fatalities--our first in six years--and dozens of other incidents. Thankfully, and led by your full court efforts to turn the tide, we have now experienced a sharp and welcome decline. From commanders to our newest Airmen, you all have been pivotal in turning the tide by enhanced vigilance, better situational awareness, and renewed emphasis on personal and task risk analysis. That specifically is the good work of the warriors in the field--not this functional staff from afar. During the last two years, we have been blessed by phenomenal commanders and front line leaders, at all levels, who have placed a laser focus on mishap prevention and fostered a climate of safety. I would like to express personal thanks to the AMC commanders I have had the honor to work for and those I've served under, both Generals Paul Selva and Darren McDew. Gen Selva's CC intent was to instill and preserve a "spirit of innovation" in our Airmen--but to never have them confuse that with "inventiveness," the taking of unnecessary risks and shortcuts around sound and proven guidance and TTP. That spirit has paid off! Gen McDew has long championed sound risk management as "inextricably linked to everything we do" as AMC and the Air Force. He recently encapsulated what he expects from AMC SE culture going forward: "AMC's greatest resource is bold, innovative Airmen willing to accept and understand reasonable risk and use creativity to get the job done ... [On Safety] The well-being of our Airmen and stewardship of our nation's precious assets are paramount as we aim to conduct operations safely." Further, a very special thanks to AMC/CV Gen Brooks Bash--who is hands down the most proactive and safety conscious senior general officer in the Air Force today. His vision, begun when he was AMC/A3, was to perpetually champion and resource all viable proactive mishap prevention tools such as MFOQA, LOSA, Aviation ORM, and ASAP, and wrap them all under a functioning Ops RAMS umbrella with a specific battle rhythm. Under Mr. Tim Grosz and his A3TO team, AMC's operational and staff enterprise has enjoyed the agility to fuse information and to dynamically adjust fire and refine policy, guidance, and training methods to meet the needs of our extremely dynamic operations environment. No other MAJCOM can yet match AMC's Ops RAMS model. Finally, it has been an absolute honor to serve inside the mighty AMC SE directorate. First and foremost, I would like to thank Mr. Dave Miller, Deputy Director, for his absolutely flawless proactive leadership 24/7/365. No finer or more capable safety professional exists in this Air Force. AMC as a command is indebted to his constant vigilance, oversight, and pure senior leader intuition in making all facets of the directorate work efficiently. I have enjoyed firsthand the herculean effort of our AMC flight, ground, weapons, and en route divisions, led by a pack of outstanding functional leaders--Steve Panger (SEF), Joe Hughes (SEG), Harry Lasell (SEW), and Lt Col Pete Kelley (SEO)--and their teams of "quiet professionals." This also extends to our partners at Schatz Publishing Group who are responsible for making The Mobility Forum a world-class publication. A very special shout-out to our Mobility Forum editor, Ms. Kim Brumley, who has been simply instrumental over the last two years in transforming the original paper-based "MATS Flyer" of 1954 into the strategic messaging electronic "periodical of choice" for the AMC, 18 AF, and EC Commanders of 2014. To all these quiet safety professionals and those at our wings, our units, and our bases around the globe who are getting it done, my deepest thanks on behalf of all those who benefit. Very respectfully, Col Paul Murphy "Mission Discipline and Safe Execution!"