Safety Theme for Third Quarter FY 03

RMKS/1. THE COORDINATED SAFETY THEME FOR THE THIRD QUARTER OF
FY03 IS "PRESERVING THE FORCE"
2. HAVING REACHED THE MIDPOINT IN THE FISCAL YEAR, LET US ALL
REFLECT UPON OUR SAFETY GOALS AND SUCCESSES. WE MUST CONTINUE
OUR EFFORTS TO KEEP EACH AND EVERY MARINE SAFE FROM MISHAPS
AND HARM.
3. THIS QUARTERS THEME BUILDS UPON THE THEMES AMD MESSAGES OF
THE FIRST AND SECOND QUARTERS.
4. THE FIRST QUARTERS THEME EMPHASIZED SEAT BELT USE. IN
FY02, WE LOST 20 MARINES DUE TO ON-DUTY MISHAPS AND 76 MARINES
DUE TO OFF-DUTY MISHAPS. 80 PERCENT (61 OF 76) OF THESE
OFF-DUTY MISHAPS WERE VEHICLE OCCUPANT DEATHS. IN THE PAST 6
MONTHS, WE HAVE LOST 12 MARINES ON-DUTY AND 23 MARINES
OFF-DUTY. AGAIN, 80 PERCENT (17 OF 21) OF THE OFF-DUTY DEATHS
RESULTED FROM PMV AND MOTORCYCLE MISHAPS. SAFE DRIVING
COUNCILS AT ALL LEVELS IN THE CORPS ENVISIONED HOLDING FOCUS
OR DISCUSSION GROUPS WITH JUNIOR MARINES TO DETERMINE THE
REASONS FOR RISKY DRIVING OR DANGEROUS RIDING BEHAVIORS AND
THEN BRAINSTORMING IDEAS ON PREVENTION. TO HELP SPEARHEAD
THESE EFFORTS, THE MARINE CORPS PARTICIPATED IN THE FALL 2002 
"CLICK IT OR TICKET" MOBILIZATION FEATURING A NATIONWIDE SEAT
BELT ENFORCEMENT BLITZ. MARINES ARE REMINDED OF THE ZERO
TOLERANCE FOR UNBELTED VEHICLE OCCUPANTS, AS REQUIRED BY MCO
5100.19E.
5. THE SECOND QUARTERS THEME FOCUSED ON MARKETING THE SAFETY
CULTURE WITHIN THE MARINE CORPS. ALL MARINES WERE REMINDED THAT
A SAFETY CULTURE IS A PRIORITY, A MINDSET, AND A NECESSITY.
WHEN APPLIED BY EVERY MARINE AND EVERY ORGANIZATION, THE 
BENEFITS ARE OBVIOUS. A SINCERE SAFETY CULTURE FOSTERS ESPRIT
DE CORPS, TEAMWORK, LEADERSHIP, AND INDIVIDUAL AWARENESS AT EVERY
STEP. ALL MARINES MUST EMBRACE OUR SAFETY CULTURE AS A TOOL THAT
HELPS US TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN.
6. THIS QUARTERS THEME, "PRESERVING THE FORCE", ACKNOWLEDGES
THAT COMMANDS, SAFETY OFFICES, AND INDIVIDUALS ARE PROUDLY
ADDRESSING A MYRIAD OF SAFETY CHALLENGES TO KEEP MARINES SAFE AND
READY. THESE EFFORTS MUST CONTINUE. WE CAN MAKE A PROFOUND
CHANGE ON THE END-OF-YEAR STATISTICS BY SEIZING THE INITIATIVE AND
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ALL OPPORTUNITIES TO PREVENT MISHAPS. AS
MARINES RETURN FROM DEPLOYMENT, SEAT BELT USE AND DRIVER AND
PEDESTRIAN SAFETY MUST BE STRONGLY EMPHASIZED. THESE MARINES WILL
BE ANXIOUS TO GET HOME, COMMANDS MUST PROVIDE SAFETY EDUCATION TO
PREVENT MISHAPS AND KEEP OUR MARINES ALIVE AND HEALTHY.
7. ALL MARINES ARE OPERATING AT HEIGHTENED STATES OF ALERT AT DUTY
STATIONS, ON DEPLOYMENTS, AND IN THEATER. YOUR LOVED ONES, YOUR
MARINE CORPS, AND YOUR NATION ARE DEPENDING ON EACH AND EVERY ONE
OF YOU. THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT YOU WILL SUCCESSFULLY AND
HONORABLY PERFORM YOUR MISSIONS. I AM ASKING EACH OF YOU TO
MAINTAIN AWARENESS OF YOUR ENVIRONMENT AND CONSISTENTLY PRACTICE
RISK MANAGEMENT.
8. DURING THE THIRD QUARTER, COMMANDS ARE REQUIRED TO HOLD A
SAFETY EVENT. PROVIDING "FORCE PRESERVATION" TRAINING AT YOUR
COMMANDS AND AT THE END OF DEPLOYMENTS IS AN EXCELLENT WAY TO HAVE
A "SAFETY EVENT". EACH EVENT WILL CONTINUE TO PAY DIVIDENDS BY
HELPING TO KEEP OUR MARINES SAFE, ALIVE, AND READY.
9. BE SMART, BE SAFE, STAY ALIVE.
10. SEMPER FIDELIS, W. L. NYLAND, GENERAL, U.S. MARINE CORPS,
ASSISTANT COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS.