Successes, safety key points of Commander's Calls

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Hrair H. Palyan
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. --  Col. Mark Weatherington, 28th Bomb Wing commander, hosted two commander's calls for all Ellsworth Airmen at the Pride Hangar July 30.

During each session he covered a variety of topics, but focused a great deal on safety and distracted driving.

"First of all, I would like to thank all of you," said Weatherington. "Every one of you has contributed in a world class way to the mission of this wing and our Air Force. We just started our yearlong combat rotation and during the past 15 months, we've met or exceeded the flying hour program every month."

Weatherington said with half of Ellsworth's B-1 bombers deployed, and nearly 700 Airmen from a variety of specialties supporting other missions around the world, the base would be relatively quiet the rest of the year, adding, "That doesn't mean it's time to ease up."

"We're in the last month of the 101 critical days of summer," said Weatherington. "We had three fatalities in Air Combat Command and all three Airmen were from the 12th Air Force."

Weatherington spoke about the importance of safety and how Airmen on base should go out and enjoy themselves, but also consider their safety and that of those around them. With the Sturgis motorcycle rally fast approaching, he added that Airmen should be aware of their environment and look out for one another.

"Take care of each other on and off duty," Weatherington said. "Every year, 24 percent of vehicle accidents in the U.S. are a result of cell phone use while driving. Make the right decision, put your phone away and focus on driving."

Weatherington ended each session by thanking the base for all of their hard work and dedication, and opened the floor up for questions from those attending.