Westar Aerospace & Defense Group, Inc. (U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center)
Client
U.S. Army Safety Office
Challenge
The U.S. Army was losing almost 300 soldiers a year to accidents, most of them in driving incidents that happen off duty. Yet the Army's risk management efforts were hampered by the word "safety"—one that is widely perceived by soldiers as an affront to a "warrior" culture in which they willingly risk their lives for one another.
Enter Reingold
To stop this senseless loss to our fighting force, Reingold helped the Army produce wholesale culture change to foster greater regard for personal safety. A key to success was framing risk management in terms of preserving combat readiness and protecting fellow soldiers. Our transformation strategy required top-level strategic planning, crafting and coordination of multitiered messaging campaigns, and tactical implementation and reinforcement across the million-member Army. Our internal marketing strategy communicated the importance of "composite risk management" to prevent casualties from both combat and accidents. To communicate this messaging, Reingold identified circles of influence within the Army-and targeted messaging for each—so we could educate the right people to reach the frontline soldiers on the ground.
Results
Our strategy successfully transformed the Army's Safety Office into the Combat Readiness Center (CRC), dedicated to preserving Army combat power through aggressive risk management. CRC achieved buy-in from both senior leadership and first- and second-line supervisors and discovered new methods and channels of communication that deliver clear, concise, and consistent messages to soldiers and all target audiences.