Do you feel lucky? Published Aug. 31, 2010 By Lt. Col. Michael Madsen 17th Airlift Squadron commander JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. -- "Do you feel lucky today?" For those of us who remember "Dirty Harry" Callahan -- Clint Eastwood's role in detective movies -- these infamous words were identified with an extreme situation with a potentially disastrous result. "Dirty Harry" posed his question as a challenge, identifying a situation of grave risk, requiring an immediate assessment from the bad guy. Instinctively, movie viewers knew the bad guy better not go for his gun but weren't surprised when he did, and Harry turned the bad guys luck for the worse. But that was the movies. We all know real life is different. Don't we? Maybe, maybe not. How often do you rely on luck to get though a risky situation? Do you fully assess the risk involved? All too often, people either consciously or unconsciously rely on luck to make things right. Imagine you are driving and the traffic light changes from green to yellow. You decide to take the chance of continuing through the intersection. As you enter the intersection, you realize you misjudged the light, and by the time you are midway through the intersection, the light turns red. At first, you look (in a state of panic) to see if there is traffic coming from the cross street. Continuing, you hope you were not seen by a police officer. Realizing you weren't noticed, you thank your good luck and go on your way. Or maybe you're having a good time with friends, maybe too good a time. You soon realize you've had too much to drink. You erroneously did not make a plan ahead of time and soon you are heading to the door, hoping with a little luck, you won't get caught or cause an accident as you are driving home. So, what's my point? Over the past two years, the final month of the Critical Days of Summer campaign has seen an alarming spike in fatalities. To quote Gen. Johns' comments last week, we need your help to reverse this horrible trend. I urge you: do not get complacent and do not rely on luck. Simply put: professionals do not rely on luck to get them through a situation, any situation. In the dictionary, luck is defined as "a combination of circumstances, events, etc., operating by chance to bring good or ill to a person." Professionals don't give up their actions to chance ... there is too much to lose. Instead they develop a plan ahead of time, think through their actions and determine the level of risk. If the risk exceeds their comfort level, or a level established by an authority, they mitigate the risk or avoid it. During duty hours, people rely on you to do your duties in a professional manner, and you should take pride in exceeding expectations. Being a professional is not a characteristic you can turn on and off; it requires integrity, service and excellence applied 24 hours a day. Approach your off-duty activities with the same critical eye you use at work. When planning activities, plan for acceptable levels of risk and set a limit to how far you will go with them. Once you have reached the limit, don't go any further. Finally, when you do find yourself in an unplanned situation, handle it to the best of your abilities; learn something from that situation to apply in the future. Luck is not an acceptable option; don't accept it as a solution even if it has gotten you through a situation in the past. Don't push the yellow light. Before you go have a good time with friends, have a plan, and enjoy in moderation. You, not luck, are in control of your actions. As we look toward the end of the Critical Days of Summer, I encourage you to make safe, smart decisions. On or off duty, safety must remain at the forefront of our decision making process.