Local Officials, Members and Employees

Please forward the attached open letter to the Chief to all BUEs. The topic is reforming post-accident investigation policy. The letter begins, "Time and again, we have heard from Chief after Chief that the agency’s top priority is to ensure the safety of Forest Service employees. In contrast to this statement, many employees have come to believe that the purpose of post-accident investigations is less to develop lessons learned and improve safety than it is to assign blame. This belief is not easily refuted, given the current policy vacuum and recent events. With all due respect, if safety is truly the agency’s top priority, then it is long past time to back this statement up with policy..."

As noted in the letter, current policy does nothing to protect any information an employee may divulge in the aftermath of a serious accident, with the motive of ensuring that others learn from mistakes and the same thing never happens again. This is a noble motive, and one that NFFE agrees with wholeheartedly. However, current policy does not ensure that an employee's statements will be used solely for this purpose.

The term "Monday morning quarterback" is one of scorn and derision, invoking images of pot-bellied old men second-guessing the split-second decisions of world-class athletes in the heat of battle. We all laugh at these soft, old men. And yet, a US Attorney who has never been on a fire line may Monday-morning quarterback decisions made in the heat and chaos of a situation he never has and never will experience. We may laugh, but such a soft man may effectively have the power to have us, or our brothers and sisters, thrown in jail.

What serious and thoughtful person, after a tragedy, does not re-examine his/her actions? Does not consider how s/he could have acted differently, perhaps better, thus resulting in a better outcome? This is the kind of thought-process required in a safety investigation. An open and honest baring of the soul, for the sake of others. But this is not the kind of attitude to take when anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law...

This is not to say that investigations to address wrongdoing should not be done. It is to say that they should be done appropriately, with appropriate Constitutional protections in place.

As noted in your union's letter to the Chief, attached, there are policies that could be put in place to make sure that employees who bare their souls for the sake of their brothers and sisters who will follow them into harm's way will have their statements protected from Monday morning quarterbacks looking for a scapegoat. These policies have not yet been put in place by the Forest Service.

For these reasons, the NFFE Forest Service Council recommends that any bargaining unit employee asked to participate in an investigation pursuant to a serious accident refrain from doing so until appropriate policies are put in place. We are actively working with agency leadership and with Congress to put appropriate policies in place and will inform you of our progress. We look forward to the day when we may tell you that you may second-guess yourself in safety investigations with confidence that your thoughts will be used solely to improve safety for those who come after you. Stay tuned.

Be safe. Be careful. Be smart.

Ron Thatcher

President, Forest Service Council