BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. – In military operations, safety isn’t just a priority – it is critical to mission success.

It’s so critical that the Wing has an entire office dedicated to safety.

The 2nd Bomb Wing Safety Office is broken down into three sections to organize their many responsibilities and ensure safety measures are enforced across the base.

Airmen in the occupational, weapons and flight safety sections are responsible for a range of tasks, from safety briefings and education to preventing and investigating mishaps.

Safety investigations are required after a safety incident involving the people or equipment assigned to Barksdale Air Force Base.

During an investigation, the safety team reviews the work center procedures and inspects the environment to determine the cause and make recommendations on how to prevent safety issues in the future.

“Whenever something occurs, we take a look at what’s happening, how it happened, and we keep asking ‘why’ until we find out the reason it happened,” said Capt. Kason Pifer, 2nd Bomb Wing flight safety chief. “The most important thing is to prevent the next mishap.”

The safety office addresses safety concerns in various ways, with spot inspections being key to identifying issues and preventing future mishaps.

From Barksdale Air Force Base’s flight line to the Senior Airman Bryan Bell Fitness Center, the safety office regularly performs random inspections to accurately assess normal unit operations, which are unannounced and conducted at random. They are designed to assess workplace conditions to ensure an accurate and unmanipulated evaluation.

“We try to identify issues that have repeated and bring it to the commander’s attention so they are able to mitigate it and advocate,” said Pifer. “I think we are the pivot point between identifying that something is wrong and the commanders being aware of it to advocate for change.”

When the safety office is not conducting investigation or facility inspections, they monitor airfield and flightline safety.

“Every day we make sure the airfield is free of wildlife and do a perimeter run to verify it’s a safe environment for aircraft to take off and land from,” said Master Sgt. Cory Sanden, 2nd Bomb Wing flight safety noncommissioned officer in charge. “After we leave the airfield, we take care of any investigations that we’re working on.”

By maintaining a safe environment and proactively addressing potential hazards, the safety office ensures that Airmen are ready to execute the 2nd Bomb Wing’s mission of strategic deterrence and global strike capabilities without compromise.