From bullets to bombs: How weapons safety comes into play

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Taylor Phifer
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  Something could go wrong at any moment, so it’s imperative that safety is a top priority in all training, missions or day-to-day activity the Airmen of Whiteman Air Force Base (AFB), Missouri, take part in.

Members of the 509th Bomb Wing Weapons Safety office ensure that anyone dealing with any type of weaponry on Whiteman handles and maintains it safely.

“Weapons safety is essential to the mission because we advise the units on the safest way to accomplish their tasks,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Kenneth Morgan, a 509th Bomb Wing Weapons Safety Manager. “Our main goal is the prevention of accidents that involve munitions, because without safety precautions, the potential for accidents and incidents with munitions would increase drastically.”

Being a Weapons Safety Manager is a special-duty assignment usually lasting two years. Weapons safety personnel normally comes from a weapons career field and are required to be at least a staff sergeant. This position involves an application process where applicants are hand-selected at the flight level to be interviewed by the wing’s chief of safety.

“Once you’re selected to serve as a Weapons Safety Manager, you are required to complete the six-week weapons safety management course at Lackland AFB, Texas,” said Tech. Sgt. Brian Henry, a 509th Bomb Wing Weapons Safety Manager.

Members of the 509th Bomb Wing Weapons Safety office ensure other units on base have the information they need in order to keep themselves and others safe while doing their jobs and ensure they’re in accordance to with any safety policies.

“On a daily basis we process and log all Possible Dull Sword (PDS) worksheets that are filled out after an accident or incident involving weapons or any weapons related items,” said Morgan. “It’s important to log each PDS to identify any possible trends with items that aren’t working correctly. When a PDS gets upgraded to a Dull Sword it means we are reporting the deficiency to the Air Force Safety Center, and we notify anyone on base that is affected by the deficiency.

“Along with that, we field many safety related questions from base units and ensure that the wing’s leadership are up-to-date with the Nuclear Surety Test,” added Morgan.

For the Airmen of the 509th Bomb Wing Weapons Safety office, each day presents new opportunities to enable and improve upon the safe execution of the mission at Whiteman.

“In the last two and a half years, I’ve been able to see how many units operate and their role for the mission,” said Morgan. “Prior to working here, I knew that the units on base had a role but now I have seen it firsthand. We work with a lot of units on base, from the 509th Medical Group to the 509th Munitions Squadron, and I’ve learned that everyone has an important job in order for the mission to be accomplished.”

Like any special-duty assignment, this position allows individuals to grow and learn new skills outside of their previous career field. Weapons Safety Managers get to see things from a different perspective and are able to return to their units with more experience.