Air Guardsman Recognized for Safety Work

Lt. Col. Edward Vaughan, the Air National Guard’s former deputy director of safety, was inducted into the Air Force Safety Hall of Fame at Maxwell AFB, Ala., Feb. 6. Vaughan, an F-16 pilot who has served with ANG units in Colorado, Indiana, and New York, was recognized for his “unique contribution to safety” and his efforts with the Air Force mishap prevention program that, together, have saved millions of taxpayer dollars and at least several lives. Vaughan, who is currently serving on active duty with the Air War College’s Blue Horizons future studies think tank, applies a “disruptive solutions process” that he created to come up with innovative ideas. Among his accomplishments, he established a widely used joint-service Web portal for see-and-avoid mid-air collision avoidance as well as the online segment of a maintenance resource manager that is credited with a 75 percent reduction in Class A mishaps due to maintenance. In 2007, he became the first ANG member to receive the Air Force Chief of Staff Individual Safety Trophy. (NGB report by Air Force Capt. Lynn Lee)