2026 Safety Focus Areas and Resources

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2026 Safety Focus Areas

Make Safety Focus Year-Round

People First

Focus on Why

CAP's Safety Culture

Risk Management Refresher

Airplane

Vehicle

Activity and Encampment

CAP/CC Memo - Annual Safety Risk Management Day and Safety Focus Areas for 2026

2026 Safety Focus Areas

Civil Air Patrol will emphasize the following Safety Focus Areas in FY26:

Make Your Safety Focus Year‑Round: Safety is most effective when it is continuous, not episodic. While CAPR 160‑- 1 requires units to complete their annual Safety Risk Management (SRM) Day by 31 March 2026, long-term safety performance is driven by regular discussions and reinforcement. I encourage commanders at every level to weave these focus areas into routine conversations and activities, so our members see that safety is a constant priority and that we avoid unnecessary risk wherever possible.
People First: Decentralized command emphasizes that we all lead and understand not just the what but the why. When our members understand why a safety practice matters, they naturally take greater ownership in doing it correctly and responsibly. A strong people-centered approach is essential to building the positive safety culture we strive for. Leaders are encouraged to engage their teams openly, explain the purpose behind safety measures, and model the culture that keeps our members safe and protects our equipment.
Aircraft Operations Discipline: Echelon Front taught us that discipline equals freedom. Inconsistent application of CRM/TEM principles—especially during high‑workload or time-compressed operations—remains a leading contributor to preventable ground incidents and in-flight errors. Strengthening discipline reduces hazards and preserves fleet readiness. Aircrew leaders should reinforce CRM/TEM habits, encourage thorough reporting, and cultivate an environment where disciplined operations are the norm.
Preexisting Conditions: In the Year of Ownership, we learned about the importance of humility and checking our ego. An honest assessment of your capabilities is critical. Members sometimes hesitate to disclose medical conditions out of concerns that they may be excluded, which has led to preventable emergencies and activity disruptions. Early disclosure allows staff to plan appropriate accommodations and keep everyone safe. Commanders can help by normalizing advance disclosure, reassuring members about its purpose, and fostering a climate where sharing health information is viewed as responsible, not restrictive. Self-assess and choose wisely when you participate!
Preparing for Natural Disasters and Weather Events: Weather disruptions and natural hazards affected activities throughout 2025, demonstrating the need for deliberate pre-planning. Reviewing historical conditions—wind, precipitation, wildfire risk, outages, and travel impacts—significantly reduces risk. Leaders are encouraged to incorporate environmental risk reviews early in their planning process to ensure safe, resilient activities.
Dehydration: This is another area where discipline equals freedom. Dehydration remains one of our most common and preventable medical risks, particularly during cadet activities and field events. You can’t participate if you're ill and dehydrated. Clear, shared expectations reduce incidents and support participant well-being. Event leaders should include hydration plans in pre‑activity briefings, integrate reminders throughout the event, and make hydration a visible and routine part of operations.
Embracing a Positive Reporting Culture: CAP’s safety performance depends on open reporting of hazards, near‑misses, and lessons learned. A healthy reporting culture strengthens our Safety Management System and enables proactive prevention. I encourage leaders to promote reporting as a positive action, respond constructively, and ensure members feel comfortable sharing concerns without hesitation.

Use the presentations and resources found on this page to continually enhance your Annual Safety Risk Management Day and reinforce safety practices throughout the year.

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Make Safety Focus Year-Round

While CAPR 160-1 requires a single safety risk management day early in the calendar year, the National Commander is encouraging all units to discuss these focus areas often throughout the year. Doing so reinforces expectations for operating without unnecessary risk and reaches as many members as possible.

“Commanders of all active units will set aside one meeting day during the months of January, February, or March to conduct an Annual Safety RM Day. The sole focus of the day is a RM refresher for all members, specifically geared towards the hazards and risks they face in their daily lives, their CAP activities, and their specific missions.”

What is "unnecessary risk"?

All of our activities come with inherent risk. Some of that risk is the responsibility of members, meaning they are personally responsible for deciding whether to participate in an activity. Other aspects of activity risk are the responsibility of CAP and the members entrusted with helping us manage that responsibility. Unnecessary risk exists when our directives and guidance aren't followed or are followed incorrectly.

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People First

A “people first” approach to safety assumes that when caring and responsible people understand why doing something is important and in everyone’s best interest, they are more diligent in ensuring it gets done.

We have some critical challenges to address and significant potential for continuous improvement – mostly in making safety more people-centric. Safety is not just a matter of following rules and filling out forms. It is a matter of caring for the well-being of ourselves and others, and taking action to prevent harm and promote health. Paper work can help document and communicate safety policies and procedures, but it cannot replace the human element of people work.
People work is the practice of engaging with others in a respectful, supportive and collaborative way, to create a positive safety culture and a shared sense of responsibility. People work involves listening to feedback, learning from mistakes, recognizing achievements, and empowering everyone to speak up and intervene when they see a potential hazard or risk.
People work is more important than paper work in safety because it fosters trust, communication and teamwork, which are essential for preventing accidents and injuries. Paper work can be useful as a tool, but it should not be the main focus or the sole measure of safety performance. People work is what makes the difference between a safe and an unsafe workplace.
To that end, it’s the time of year where we ask each of you to spend one day between the beginning of January and the end of March to talk about Safety Risk Management. Together, we can make the event more than a box to check or something we must do because we have a regulation that requires it. The power for making that shift is in members’ understanding that they are critical to ensuring every mission and activity is as safe as reasonably possible – as a “right thing to do.”

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Focus on Why

We care about each other, our resources, and the missions and activities that make us who we are. We all want every person to go home safely and our equipment returned undamaged. Both of those ends keep us ready, reliable, and credible in everything we do, and the diligent exercise of stewardship – a high degree of care and responsibility – provides an invaluable layer of assurance that we are. Regardless of the content you choose, talk about why it’s important to cover it, why it matters, and why it must be practiced. All the reporting and assessments in the world aren’t going to make us safer unless people hold safety as a personal value, which is demonstrated by acting in ways that reflect care and concern for each other and the resources entrusted to us. That ideal is more about guiding, mentoring, and coaching so people learn to use the tools that keep themselves and each other safe.

What’s the challenge? It takes time to engage with people, to help them learn and grow, and to help them embrace safety as a personal value. When you do engage them, you’ll find that there are a variety of attitudes about safety and that everyone has a unique view of what “safe” means and whether prevention is worth the effort when it comes to avoiding some outcomes. The investment of time and energy, however, demonstrates that leaders are actively helping members to understand potential hazards, assures members that they are concerned for their safety and the safety of their teammates, frames and plans activities that are suitable for members given the degree of difficulty, and helps members self-assess their abilities.

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Safety Culture

CAP's Ideal Safety Culture - PowerPoint

CAP Safety Principles