CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
The 101 Critical Days of Summer will kick off with a dramatic and gripping program that will show Team Charleston what its like to be the victim of a trauma scene.
Street Smart by Stay Alive From Education will be held at 7:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. at the Hurricane Gym in the fitness and sports center. This demonstration is mandatory for all Airman age 27 and under to attend. Everyone else is encourages to attend.
The Street Smart program will take Charleston's Airmen into the real-life drama experienced by firefighters and paramedics as they work to save the lives of individuals who have made poor choices when it comes to drinking, using drugs and not using their seatbelts.
"If you have a shop of six Airmen and one is involved in a fatal mishap due to an irresponsible decision on their part, that puts more work and stress on the shop and can, in turn, hurt the mission," said Tech. Sgt. Dwayne Powell, 437th ground safety superintendent. "The streets are where the crashes occur ... where the windshields are shattered ... where the injuries are violent ... where lives are forever changed."
In 2004, Charleston AFB had 32 fatalities due to many different circumstances. By 2006, the number of fatalities had dropped to 18.
"Increased awareness could be the cause of the decrease in numbers of fatalities, but today's Airmen are subject to many different avenues of information," said Lt. Col. Trevor Nitz, 437 AW chief of safety. "So we have to overwhelm the Airmen with safety information."
Two certified paramedics will walk the audience through what it's like to be a victim at a trauma scene and the SAFE team will tell their stories from behind the crashes. The Airmen will also get to hear the choices an individual is given and get to see the results of the individual's irresponsible decisions and actions. The team's goal is to teach the Airmen to understand the consequences of their actions and the importance and value of their own lives.
"We arm our Airmen with information and statistics on mishaps that happen on base, and hopefully with that information, the Airmen will make the right decisions," said Colonel Nitz. "If we save one life with the information we gave out, then it was worth it."
SAFE is a no-holds-barred presentation that gets participants involved. The team will show pictures and give descriptions of real-life trauma incidents and lead a discussion on the importance of making the right decisions concerning safety.
"It's not a lecture ... it's a real-life view of their options," said Colonel Nitz.