Are You Prepared Published April 24, 2014 By Mr. Robert Hughes 6th Civil Engineer Squadron director MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Every day, every hour, and for the most part, every minute we have a decision or choice to make. We strive to stimulate a culture of responsible choices throughout the Air Force. In our wings and squadrons, we stress the importance of making responsible choices, both on the job and away from the work centers. As leaders, we remind people during commander's calls and safety briefings, always encouraging personnel to think about their choices before making a decision. Making good decisions needs to be a part of our everyday lives. Most of us try to do the same away from work. I know that I stress it with my own kids and as a high school lacrosse coach. Make it a recurring theme about doing well in school, getting homework done and not waiting until the last possible minute to study or finish assignments. Everyone on the team (and my kids at home) nod their heads yes, but I still wonder if they get it. But if we keep reminding them about the importance, they will. If not now, they certainly will later on. So how do you define a good choice? Some are obvious, like not driving after drinking or taking short cuts on safety when performing potentially risky tasks. Wear your safety goggles and other personal protective equipment. Use your fundamental skills that have been developed through training. Career path decisions will take longer to see the results. Most people want to leave future options open should circumstances or preferences change. Finishing that degree or deciding which degree to get may open different doors in the future. Sometimes just taking an additional class or achieving a top score will have just as significant of an impact. Take a step back and look at the big picture. Then decide what is important and look at where you are headed. Continuously improving ourselves should factor into the decisions that we all try to make. Most of our options in life are a direct result of the effort and preparation level. Being prepared is an important decision as well. All of the items listed above involve planning and preparation. These do not come without a commitment to making a decision to be prepared. How many times have we been educated on having a plan if we plan to drink alcohol? And unfortunately, how many times have we heard about someone's plan falling apart. Or preparing for that test, have you done everything that you could have to prepare for that test. We should all be planning for a successful career. How do you prepare for a successful career? Does it involve taking additional classes, pursuing that Community College of the Air Force degree, filling out your assignment dream sheet? On June 1st, we enter another hurricane season. Living in Tampa, Florida requires that we spend time and be prepared for a significant weather related event. As an installation, we do this very well. We review plans, scrub checklists, perform table top exercises and visit our alternate operating locations. We develop a squadron roster that contains information for each squadron or unit member regarding their safe house or safe haven to ensure that all personnel have thought through the question of where you will go if we need to take cover and how do we get in touch with you afterwards to determine your safety. So if you have not reviewed or updated this information in your plan, do it this week. If you are new to MacDill and have not thought through where you and your family will go during an event, or are unfamiliar with the Adopt a Family or Safe House and Safe Haven programs, please get with your supervisor, review the following regarding each program and make a plan. The AAF program is a unit administered program designed to match volunteer families living outside evacuation zones with families who live in an evacuation zone or who live in a manufactured or mobile home in the Tampa Bay region. When a Category 1, 2 or 3 hurricane is forecast to impact the Tampa Bay region, personnel who live in an evacuation zone or who live in a manufactured or mobile home in the Tampa Bay region should plan to relocate to a safe house. Safe houses must be within 100 miles of MacDill and personnel should plan to return to base within four hours of recall. Units should encourage personnel living outside the evacuation zones to volunteer as host families. Coordination with other units may be necessary if there are not enough volunteer families in a particular unit. Safe house locations and contact information for unit personnel will be updated in the 6th Air Mobility Wing accountability database every September and April or as personnel in-process to ensure all personnel have data entered for Safe House and Safe Haven. All personnel will also be briefed on how to update their information on the Air Force personnel accountability and assessment system once they arrive at their safe house or haven. When a Category 4 or 5 hurricane is forecasted to impact the Tampa Bay area, total area evacuation may be recommended and all MacDill personnel will be directed to evacuate to a safe haven outside the Tampa Bay region. Safe haven evacuation locations are limited to the continental United States however unit commanders may impose specific limits for their unit personnel depending on mission requirements. Personnel should plan to return to base from safe haven locations within 24 hours of recall. Safe haven locations and contact information for unit personnel will be updated in the 6 AMW accountability database every September and April or as personnel in-process to ensure all personnel have data entered for Safe House and Safe Haven. All personnel will also be briefed on how to update AFPAAS once they arrive at their safe house or haven.