CAP Bodily injury accidents -- can we really reduce them?

[ricks]

It was mentioned that these are unavoidable accidents. I do not concur.
Cadet cut hand on thorn while performing litter carry.
Due to the nature of ground team work I would be suprised that leather gloves are not a required item.
Cadet pulled chest muscle during PT.
Proper warm-up and stretching would likely mitigate.
Cadet presented with pain in shoulder after attempting a pull up.
Proper warm-up and stretching would likely mitigate.
Cadet skinned knee during free time
Unavoidable except by personal situational awareness.
Cadet cut left hand opening an "MRE".
Unavoidable except by personal situational awareness.
SM pinched finger in door
Unavoidable except by personal situational awareness.
Cadet fractured collarbone while running
Ensure proper attire and footwear before runs.
Cadet tore ankle ligament – team sports
Proper warm-up and stretching would likely mitigate.
Cadet fractured right hand while playing Frisbee
Unavoidable except by personal situational awareness.
SM had spasm and difficulty breathing
Prior medical issues noted?
Cadet hyper extended wrist while playing Frisbee
Proper warm-up and stretching would likely mitigate.
SM reached in her bag and was bitten by a poisonous spider
Unavoidable except by personal situational awareness.
Cadet had allergic reaction to weeds and grasses
Prior medical issues noted?
Cadet hit back of head on middle of top bunk
Unavoidable except by personal situational awareness.
SM felt intense pain in her right knee causing her to fall.
Prior medical issues noted?
Cadet fractured collarbone while playing volley ball
Proper warm-up and stretching would likely mitigate.
Cadet heard her knee "pop" and it began hurting
Proper warm-up and stretching would likely mitigate.
SM slipped and fell on dead tree injuring his chest.
Need to learn basic woodsmanship for GT's. Fast is slow. (and might hurt your chest.

[Ned]

  Why is it so strange to expose cadets to basic ORM training that we will expect them to implement as the become leaders themselves, first in the cadet program and later in life?

Because they are children and most can't grasp the abstract concepts.

I think this kind of response does a huge disservice to our cadets. 

It sounds a little  . . . patronizing.  "Sorry, Cadet Jones, Basic ORM is far, far too advanced for a young mind like yours.  Run outside and drill around the parking lot for a while while the seniors do Deep Thinking about how to keep you safe."

First, among the things we teach cadets, ORM is not particularly abstract.  Even a 12 year old cadet has a pretty good grasp of physical injuries and how they might be prevented.  The Basic ORM course is indeed pretty . . . basic.

Second, we teach cadets a whole bunch of "abstract" things like, say, "leadership."  For younger and newer cadets, they start to learn followship and as they progress they get some pretty darn abstract concepts.  With ORM, they will start with Basic ORM and transition to more comprehensive training later in their cadet careers.

No amount of check box BS training is going to change that kind of thinking. Mandating that people take a course days and sometimes hours before an activity is supposed to occur is complete insanity. I have a cadet right now that has no internet access for example.

And we will - together as competent CP leaders - figure out how to get your cadet the required training. 

Has it occurred to the people in echelons beyond reality that accidents and injuries are a part of life? That bad things happen for no reason at all?

Gosh, no.  That had never occured to us.   

Nobody has ever said that our goal is to somehow magically have a  "zero injury" summer.  Our goal is to reduce reasonably preventable bodily injuries to our cadets as we conduct our challenging cadet program.

This looks like another lawyer CYA idea that is bound to make it harder to actually do the mission. Yeah less accidents will happen because we're not doing anything anymore.

No activities have been cancelled.  Indeed, we are having more encampments and NCSAs than last year.

And, AFAIK, no lawyers were directly involved in this policy.  This was a decision by our national leadership based on their review of safety reports from the field.

[RedFox24]

No activities have been cancelled.  Indeed, we are having more encampments and NCSAs than last year.

And, AFAIK, no lawyers were directly involved in this policy.  This was a decision by our national leadership based on their review of safety reports from the field.

Not yet, but I suspect to see participation down.  And I suspect to see people turned away from encampment because they don't have the training.  Esp at those activities that are just weeks away.

Lawyers were involved in this, be it regulation lawyers at NHQ.  CYA by NHQ all the way.  The timing of this is all wrong; this data has been available for months before now. 

More symbolism over substance from a HQ more worried about hurting its planes than anything. 

[jimmydeanno]

I think a good question to answer is:

"Is there any data to show that since the initiation of the previous safety 'checkbox' programs there has been a noticeable decrease in the number of preventable injuries and accidents?"

The ORM concept can apply to other things than just safety - like whether or not a particular training is worth the effort it takes to complete.  We can always cite the "well, if it prevents 1 accident from occuring..." but that is a strawman argument to divert the attention away from the fact that the program really did nothing.

From my point of view (which is pretty local) these added requirements have done nothing to improve our safety record or mitigate any risk because we have never had a reportable incident.

In our wing last two weeks ago, we had two separate individuals rear-end cars at stoplights with CAP vans.  In all seriousness, do you think it is some sign of a pandemic of CAP van accidents that are going to occur? 

If we make all our CAP drivers go through the license checkoff again and no accidents occur is it a result of the program or just luck/coincidence that it never happens again?

[RiverAux]

I think jimmydeano and I are on the same page in that we support proven effective safety programs.  Of course you have to try something to prove it, but the way to do that is to test it in enough sites to get a decent sample and if it seems to have made a difference, then expand it. 

Now, ricks has suggested that proper stretching and warm up could possible mitigate some of the pt/sports injuries and he is right.  But  did NHQ send out some guidance on stetching and warm-up programs (or emphasizing existing guidance if it is already exists)?  Nope.  We got a generic mandate that doesn't address that problem. 

[RedFox24]

60% of the mandate is planes.  Not vans, Not cadets Not seniors but PLANES.

Shows what NHQ thinks is most important.

[ricks]

I think jimmydeano and I are on the same page in that we support proven effective safety programs.  Of course you have to try something to prove it, but the way to do that is to test it in enough sites to get a decent sample and if it seems to have made a difference, then expand it. 

Now, ricks has suggested that proper stretching and warm up could possible mitigate some of the pt/sports injuries and he is right.  But  did NHQ send out some guidance on stetching and warm-up programs (or emphasizing existing guidance if it is already exists)?  Nope.  We got a generic mandate that doesn't address that problem.

It is interesting to note that when I went through PLDC to become an NCO, a large portion of the training was correct PT training. That is because it is one of the activities in the Army that produces a huge amount of injuries. WIWAC back in '91 I went to an encampment and was smoked by a cadet who (now that I know proper technique) had no business running a PT program. I do not know how much the cadet leadership program has changed since but I am willing to bet that we have a ton of senior cadets out there trying to be hard resulting in injuries to themselves and their charges.

In the Army, you do not get to run a PT program unless you are an NCO or under direct supervision. This is to protect the full-grown soldier's health. Why is it that cadets or untrained CAP members are allowed to run PT programs on less capable cadets? I believe that a comprehensive PT program would be greatly beneficial. Not only would it allow cadets to efficiently train and strengthen their bodies but also it would go a long way in mitigating these PT stress injuries.  We could even coordinate it with the President's Challenge or something like that.

[NC Hokie]

So, in a situation where you have identified a safety training issue, the solution is to put off that training for a year because the timing is incovenient?  Even if that suggests that injuries will occur that could otherwise be prevented?

What proof is there that a safety training issue has been identified?  Injuries and accidents?  You can train until you're blue in the face, but accidents STILL happen, even preventable ones.

My real question though is what makes NHQ think that blowing thru online training at the last minute will have a greater effect on safety than, say, instructing activity leaders to conduct a one hour ORM briefing once the activity starts?

For the record, I do NOT have an issue with addressing safety, but the method being used in this instance is all wrong.

Basically concur.  ORM is clearly a leader responsibility.

But that doesn't make it some sort of secret that only seniors can know about either.

Cadets, essentially by definition, take leadership training well before they are expected to use it.  The whole point of the cadet program is to produce leaders for our community.  Why is it so strange to expose cadets to basic ORM training that we will expect them to implement as the become leaders themselves, first in the cadet program and later in life?

It's not strange to expose cadets to ORM, but forcing it upon them as they're literally packing for encampment, etc. is not the proper way to do it.  ORM is something that needs to be taught and then practiced, which the current directive simply does not provide for.

[Ned]

It's hard to keep up with the responses.

A few thoughts:

Lawyers were involved in this, be it regulation lawyers at NHQ.  CYA by NHQ all the way.   

And you know that lawyers were behind this exactly how?

And BTW, how many lawyers do you think work at NHQ anyway?

(Hint: N=1, the General Counsel who has a lot of other things to worry about.)

I believe that a comprehensive PT program would be greatly beneficial. Not only would it allow cadets to efficiently train and strengthen their bodies but also it would go a long way in mitigating these PT stress injuries.  We could even coordinate it with the President's Challenge or something like that.

Oddly enough, we actually have one of those.  Which is implemented in every single cadet unit.

CAPP 52-18, The Cadet Physical Fitness Program.  See Chapter 4, "Fitness Training Programs" which specifically addresses warm-up and cool down.

And, FWIW, our CPFT is based directly on data from the President"s Council.

You can train until you're blue in the face, but accidents STILL happen, even preventable ones.

Obviously true.  But logically unrelated to whether proper training does reduce unnecessary risks that produce preventable injuries.  Otherwise, why bother to have an ORM program in the first place?

My real question though is what makes NHQ think that blowing thru online training at the last minute will have a greater effect on safety than, say, instructing activity leaders to conduct a one hour ORM briefing once the activity starts?

Odd rhetorical question. 

Obviously, "NHQ" doesn't think that "blowing through training" will have a greater effect on safety. 

But we do think that ORM and safety training can and do prevent unnecessary injuries.  And every cadet activity (over four nights) is already required to conduct extensive ORM during the Required Staff Training (RST).  Now, however, the staff will have completed two additional ORM courses prior to arrival which should make the RST process much more comprehensive.  And activities that did not already appoint a Safety Officer will be required to do so.

It's not strange to expose cadets to ORM, but forcing it upon them as they're literally packing for encampment, etc. is not the proper way to do it.  ORM is something that needs to be taught and then practiced, which the current directive simply does not provide for.

I'm not sure I understand your point.  I agree that timing is short for some cadets and staffers whose encampment or NCSA is starting soon.  (Indeed, some activities had already started when the directive was published.)  Of course, most participants (myself included) will have a month or more to accomplish the training.

But even for cadets with short notice, Basic ORM is a fairly simple and painless course, usually done in less than an hour.  Often far less.  And if the cadet cannot reasonably complete the instruction before the start of the activity, we will make alternative arrangements for the training. 

And I agree that ORM concepts need to be reinforced and practiced to be effective.  Which is exactly what is going to happen at each activity this summer.

Peace.

Ned Lee
National Cadet Advisor

[ricks]

 :clap:

[ricks]

Oddly enough, we actually have one of those.  Which is implemented in every single cadet unit.

CAPP 52-18, The Cadet Physical Fitness Program.  See Chapter 4, "Fitness Training Programs" which specifically addresses warm-up and cool down.

And, FWIW, our CPFT is based directly on data from the President"s Council.

Wow. If all cadets are using this resource and it is being followed then CAP is right on track. It would be great to see a phsyical fitness instructor track or something under cadet programs. That looks like a great resource. I have been sufficently schooled. Thank you.

[SarDragon]

It was mentioned that these are unavoidable accidents. I do not concur.
[remainder redacted]

+1

The NJ DMV inspection stickers used to say this on the back side (maybe still do):

"Accidents don't just happen; they are caused."

I have believed that since the first time I read it at age 10. Sometime you have to look deep and hard for the reason, but there's one there.

For early teens, ORM can be as simple as: If you do A, B will happen. If they get these in a slow progression, by the time they are cadet officers, they have quite a data bank to draw from. As in reasoning with a three-year-old, it's all a matter of technique.

[sardak]

This could equally belong in the thread on the recent (June) "Interim Change Letter-Increased Safety Requirements for Cadet Activities"  which is here, http://captalk.net/index.php?topic=8267.0 News release from today (click on headline for link):
New National Study Finds Increase in P.E. Class-Related Injuries - Annual number of cases increased 150 percent from 1997-2007

A recent study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital (link), found that the number of PE-related injuries to elementary, middle and high school students in the United States increased 150 percent between 1997 and 2007.

According to the study, published in the [September] issue of Pediatrics, the most common PE-related injuries were lower-extremity sprains and strains (23 percent), followed by upper extremity sprains and strains (14 percent) and fractures (14 percent). Middle school-aged children (11-14 years of age) accounted for the majority of PE-related injuries (52 percent).

Nearly 70 percent of PE-related injuries occurred while children were participating in six activities (running, basketball, football, volleyball, soccer and gymnastics). Injuries were caused by contact with another person, playing surface, equipment, stationary structures, pulled muscles, overuse and activity related illnesses such as heat stroke.

"Identifying patterns of PE-related injuries is the first step toward preventing them. Injury prevention education should be made a priority for all PE activities, especially for those activities with the highest injury rates."[said study author Lara McKenzie, PhD, principal investigator]

The Center for Injury Research last month released a study on rock climbing injuries.

Mike

[jimmydeanno]

This could equally belong in the thread on the recent (June) "Interim Change Letter-Increased Safety Requirements for Cadet Activities"  which is here, http://captalk.net/index.php?topic=8267.0 News release from today (click on headline for link):
New National Study Finds Increase in P.E. Class-Related Injuries - Annual number of cases increased 150 percent from 1997-2007

I heard this on the news this morning as well while I was driving into work.  The radio coverage was trying to say that it was a result of PE teachers not doing what they were supposed to, etc. 

I think there are a lot more factors.

1) General Obesity rates among youth has increased over the past decade substantially.  More obese people get injured easier. http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/Master/22/606/FINALfactsandfigures2.pdf

2) Kids aren't as active as they used to be.  They're just out of shape.  When out of shape people work out, they get hurt more easily.

I would venture to guess that those two reasons have more to do with it than anything than the actual exercise themselves.