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101 Days of Summer

Saturday, May 26, 2018

Every few years I have the pleasure of addressing Military men and women on the choices they make. Whether it be the War College or the Coast Guard Academy, the message is the same. The consequence of our actions can have far reaching, and sometimes devastating outcomes.

No one period of time increases the risk of injury, fatality or other life altering consequences than the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day. A lesson stressed by Military Experts, and echoed by all wishing to change cultural behaviors, is to follow a best practice- and, they state the best model anyone can do would be to practice operational risk management (ORM).

"One way to do that is to plan your event and stick to your plan." And, "If the plan changes - notify someone of your change, and do your ORM. Unplanned, can sometimes lead to consequences from which there is no recovering.

The 101 Critical Days of Summer campaign originally began sometime after the passage of the Monday Holiday Bill in 1971, when, statistics showed an increase in mishaps and fatalities during long weekends and longer summer days.

The period between Memorial Day and Labor Day was chosen as the critical days. There are 101 days between the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend and the end of the Labor Day weekend.

Make a plan, stick to your plan and make the 101 Days of Summer days you long to relive, not live to regret.