A message from General W. L. Nyland, the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps

Last November, I had the pleasure of speaking for the Marine Corps at the kickoff of the first Corps-wide participation in the Click-It-or-Ticket seatbelt enforcement blitz. Our hard work in this effort received a lot of attention--and rightly so, as Marines were "the tip of the spear" in this all-important lifesaving campaign. I am proud of our participation with the National Safety Council and I am glad to say our seatbelt use rates have improved. Getting all Marines belted is one of the major steps we can take to reduce Marine deaths and injuries. It is well known that in a bad crash, an unrestrained body can be whipped around with enough force to literally tear it apart. When we apply Operational Risk Management to our off-duty activities, riding unbelted is one risk that is never justifiable.

There are other driving risks that are frequent killers and similarly not worth taking. Over the last five fiscal years we lost 252 members of our Corps in traffic crashes, most of them preventable. Many of those Marines would still be alive if they had made one or more smart decisions--to buckle up, not to drive when drowsy, to maintain a safe driving speed, not to drive after drinking, or not to ride with an alcohol-impaired driver. This special traffic-safety issue of Ground Warrior will give you some different viewpoints on these and other avoidable risks. Marines, in order to teach other Marines lessons they learned in frightening and painful ways, submitted most of the articles. To all of you who submitted articles, thank you--you have done a service to your fellow Marines. I urge all Marines to read these stories carefully for each has an important message. Pass these messages to other Marines; add your own close calls and experiences to learn, to increase your awareness, and to save lives, perhaps your own.

This magazine is a valuable and useful venue to pass on your lessons to many more of your fellow Warriors. You can provide your articles for submission to CMC (SD) at hqmcsd@hqmc.usmc.mil. I encourage all Marines to share their ideas and knowledge as the authors have done in this edition of Ground Warrior.

Stay safe, drive smart.

COPYRIGHT 2003 U.S. Navy Safety Center
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group