Risk management key to Air Force team's seven summits: Part 5

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kathee Mullins
"When it's right, you go for it, but sometimes the best decision is to roll over and go back to bed; the mountain will be there tomorrow," said Capt. Kyle "Husky" Martin.
Knowing when to tackle the challenge and when to reevaluate, gather more information and justify the risks involved are valuable tools of risk management (RM).
Martin, an F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot currently flying T-38s and division chief for the 1st Operations Group at Joint Forces Fort Eustis, Va., is a member of the U.S. Air Force Seven Summits team that recently completed their climb of Mount Everest.

Martin said the skills he has learned in the Air Force translate between military aviation and climbing. Skills like combat survival training, first aid, physical fitness, and RM are some of Air Force skills he used while on Mount Everest with RM being the most valuable.

"The most important skill is risk evaluation," said Martin. "When we fly, a whole team of people helps us make the Go/No-Go decision: weather, Supervisor of Flying, Top-3. When you do launch the plane, you're constantly evaluating if the value justifies the risk. The same is true for climbing. You try to get as much information and as many experts into the decision process as possible. You are constantly evaluating as the day goes on."

Evaluating situations and the conditions of a challenge such as this and acknowledging and coping with the building stress factors are major ways to increase individual and team safety.
"Deployments and expeditions like this one are a lot alike; you are far away from home in austere conditions and some days are pretty dangerous," said Martin. "The stress starts to build and you need to know how to keep the stress from becoming excessive. If you get overstressed or anxious, you might rush something or make a poor decision. Rushing into or making bad decisions can result in someone getting hurt. Knowing how to cope with stress is critical to mission and challenge success."
Stress has a way of clouding the thinking process and causing poor judgment.

"Talking to fellow teammates and Airmen, calling home to talk to love ones, and just listening to music to unwind are the same strategies I used in Iraq and on the Mount Everest climb," said Martin.
Even though the team started with six members for this climb, Martin was one of four who actually reached the summit. Two of the members, Capt. Colin Merrin and Staff Sgt. Nick Gibson had to evaluate the risks and their own health conditions and turn back to ensure their own safety and that of the team's.

"Those two climbers had done everything they needed to do to be ready to summit," said Martin. "They were as strong and capable as anyone on the team. Unfortunately they were unlucky and got sick through no fault of their own. When it became clear that their illnesses made summiting impossible, they made the mature decision, accepted the situation for what it was, and saved their own lives by turning back. Continuing could have placed them in mortal danger. They knew the risks, recognized it, and made the right call to turn back."

Good decision making and the ability to evaluate the risks are a big part of good RM and Air Force training for their Airmen. These six Airmen knew the risks, evaluated them and kept safety at the forefront. They mitigated the risks, met the challenge and reaped the benefits.

As the first rays of sun hit the summit of Mt. Everest, Maj Rob Marshall and Capt Andrew Ackles, two of the team's climbers, unfolded the Air Force flag. It was a powerful moment, as earlier in the day Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh had wished the team good luck and at that moment over 12,000 people were actively following their GPS tracker online. The magnitude of the Air Force flag reaching the top of the world meant a great deal to Martin, as he knew tens of thousands of Airmen, veterans, and American citizens would be smiling at this extraordinary accomplishment.