You'll never believe what heppend to us ...

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Tim Smith
  • 39th Medical Group
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Shirt- Check this out ... So there I was. "You'll never believe what happened to us this weekend." I can't tell you how many times I hear stories that begin with those word combinations. This time last year was no exception.

With the holiday season upon us, I can only hope that I don't hear those same words echoed again. Even though a lot of times these stories are interesting, this particular story could have been tragic. So here's the story ... "Shirt- Check this out ..." (you knew it was coming). They took the long weekend to go on a ski trip. All the necessary steps were taken including having enough food and clothing, the ski equipment, first aid kit, out of area request submitted, designated driver (it is always great to have a Wingman that doesn't drink) and supervisor informed on where they were going, but sometimes even the most obvious can be overlooked. In this case, it was black ice.

For a few seconds, which seemed like an eternity to them ... they did not know their fate. To get the turkey and dressing (holiday humor for you), it wasn't until the return trip home when they where traveling down a two-lane road that they hit a patch of black ice. The well-equipped vehicle, which was traveling down a mountainous two lane road without any side rails, spun out of control twice, finally coming to a stop when the front of the SUV hit a snow bank. The rest of the ride home was expectantly quiet, each person deep in his own thoughts of what could have just happened, because the bottom of the mountain was nowhere in sight.

As you can see, this story (one of many we hear) could have had a very different outcome. Usually it takes escaping a near tragedy to think there was probably a better way to do business. Although these conditions are rare to Incirlik, they are not rare to Turkey. My wish, prayer, suggestion, advice and hope for you and your family and friends this holiday season is to think about the what-ifs, and what could happen before it does ... so you don't have to play the Monday morning quarterback.