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3 decades of safety, loving every minute

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Bekah Phy
  • 305th Air Mobility Wing public affairs
McGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, N.J. --  He's dedicated the past 30 years to keeping servicemembers and their families safe. His hard work, commitment and passion about safety prove he loves what he does. His nationally and internationally recognized awards from his peers, Air Mobility Command and the Air Force prove he's great at doing it.

Tom Diveley, the 305th Air Mobility Wing (acting) safety chief, was recently named the International Instructor Trainer of the Year for 2007 (for Defensive Driving Courses) by the National Safety Council. The International Advisory Committee board, of which he is the only eastern U.S. government representative, has members from South America, Canada, the U.K. and the U.S.

"I had no idea I was nominated for the award. I believe it was because of my involvement with the push for the Alive at 25 program within AMC and the Air Force," Mr. Diveley said. "We certified about 80 instructors in AMC alone this past summer and trained more than 600 young Airmen and family members in the (Alive at 25) course."

A certain percentage of the more than 7,000 Defensive Driving Course instructors worldwide are instructor trainers or master instructors, like Mr. Diveley. The Alive at 25 course, which is held here with coordination through the safety office, encourages young drivers between the ages of 16 and 24 to take responsibility for their driving behavior. McGuire has a large percentage of Airmen and family members in this age category, so Mr. Diveley pushed for the course.

In a letter, Maj. Gen. Wendell Griffin, the Air Force chief of safety, congratulated Mr. Diveley on receiving such a prestigious award. " ... With your help, the Air Force experienced great success with our mishap reduction, and in fact Headquarters AMC achieved the astonishing accomplishment of zero fatalities during this year's '101 Critical Days of Summer' campaign," the general said. " ... You have undeniably set the standard of excellence and professionalism within the Air Force and DoD safety communities."

"I have no idea who even nominated me - I was totally stunned about this award," Mr. Diveley said. "It's one of those things when you're selected by your peers, and they are considered the top of their profession in their countries, it's pretty overwhelming. I've never been so humbled in my life.

"Being selected as the Air Force Safety Career Professional of the Year (in 2006 and 2007) ranks right up there with that," he said. "To be recognized for doing what you love to do is a pretty great feeling."

Mr. Diveley has been a part of Team McGuire since 1973. He started out in 514th as a traditional Reservist in the operations world and converted to safety in 1979. He retired from the 514th in 1998 and shortly after was selected as the occupational health and safety manager for the 305th AMW. In 2001, he became the deputy chief of safety here.
The future seems pretty solid for Mr. Diveley. He plans to stay with the 305th AMW safety office to continue doing what he loves - keeping Team McGuire safe.

"I plan to keep doing what we're doing - keeping our Airmen safe and injury free, so they can go out and do what they're supposed to do, which is to complete the mission," he said. "If they get hurt off duty or for any reason here and we lose them to the mission, it's no different than being injured performing their duties (overseas). Someone lost to the mission causes a domino effect and it pushes right down to everyone else in that unit.

"We will also continue to provide a safe environment for our family members," Mr. Diveley said. "Military members should not have to worry about their family member when they're deployed; they need to leave that to us to know that they're in good hands, and we're gonna be looking out for them."