Take Action ASAP!

The Airman Safety Action Program is an identity-protected, self-reported and non-punitive program designed to encourage voluntary reporting to highlight a hazardous situation, unintentional error or hidden risk.

“We stress safe, secure and effective in the nuclear enterprise, and ASAP is a tool for Airmen to tangibly ensure the mission and people are taken care of,” said Col. Patrick Brown, 20th Air Force Director of Safety and Nuclear Surety.

The Air Force Safety Center recently completed a transformation of the Aviation Safety Action Program into a more inclusive Airman’s program for all disciplines. ASAP is a proactive reporting mechanism that empowers Airmen to establish safe work centers and encourages others to take action and correct potentially unsafe areas, practices and people.

ASAP’s goal is to prevent mishaps by addressing those unintentional errors, hazardous situations and events, and high-risk activities not identified or correctable by other methods or through traditional safety reporting sources.

The reported information is used to reduce mishaps through operational, training and procedural enhancements.  ASAP offers a significant potential for avoiding mishaps, due to the ability for any Airman to provide early identification of early needed safety improvements.

Submissions are thoroughly reviewed and analyzed by local and headquarters safety offices and feedback is given to all Airmen involved in nuclear operations.  ASAP in aviation has been in use across the Air Force for over a decade and real solutions have come about by submissions from Airmen who execute the mission. The US Air Force Safety Center has received hundreds of reports about threats and errors that never would have been exposed otherwise. The program’s success is linked to the mishaps prevented from reporting. ASAP aims to establish a work culture that takes the time to report hazards, justly considers the cause of errors and their remediation, and improves processes, when necessary.

“Airmen need to know they have the ability to take action and make changes that could potentially benefit the entire command,” said Maj. Gen. Anthony Cotton, 20th Air Force commander. “ASAP is a proactive safety program with tremendous potential to prevent mishaps for all our Airmen, and I encourage commanders to advocate for its use at all levels.”