Street Smart briefing shows Airmen importance of good choices

  • Published
  • By Airman Cortney Hansen
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  Firefighters and paramedics from the Stay Alive From Education organization held a Street Smart briefing for Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen aged 25 and younger stationed at Malmstrom Dec. 7 at the base theater.

The Street Smart briefing was held to educate Airmen on the consequences of poor choices such as drunk driving; texting, eating, and talking on the phone while driving; and not wearing a seat belt.

"More military members die in vehicle-related accidents than in combat situations," said Chris Stocks, a fire rescue paramedic and presenter of Street Smart.

The team presented a slideshow that contained photos of victims and vehicles from real accidents and recordings of phone calls to emergency services.

People who attend the briefing should be able to leave with the understanding that there are real consequences to being distracted while driving, said Patrick Kelly, a fire rescue paramedic and presenter of Street Smart.

"If I have a room full of 150 people and I can save one person from one bad choice in one day, then I feel like I have accomplished something," Mr. Kelly said. "The bottom line is to save the lives of American servicemembers."

Mr. Kelly and Mr. Stocks made the presentation more real for the audience by choosing Airman 1st Class Calvin Bostick, 341st Security Forces Group Tactical Response Force member, as a volunteer to participate in an exercise on stage.

The presenters put a neck brace on Airman Bostick and strapped him to a back board to show the audience what could happen to a victim who survived an alcohol-related crash.

One person may make everyone around them suffer just by making a poor choice, Mr. Kelly said. He explained this by describing three types of victims: alive and unconscious, alive and conscious, or dead; each type of victim affects people in different ways. A victim that is alive and unconscious leaves everyone unaware of their condition. A victim that is alive and conscious is usually screaming in pain expressing their injuries. A victim who is dead is no longer a part of this world, which affects everyone who was a part of their life.

Mr. Stocks and Mr. Kelly shared real situations to show Airmen that wearing a seatbelt and using common sense while driving can help prevent accidents.

"Fifty percent of accidents are seatbelt related so half of the accidents are preventable," Mr. Stocks said.

Overall there were four presentations conducted to educate Airmen Dec. 7 and Dec. 8.