Poor weather demands greater port work safety.

The rain comes in steady torrents--driven by strong winds off Corpus Christi Bay, Texas. It cascades down and covers every open surface of the USNS Pollex, a Fast Sealift Ship of the Military Sealift Command.

The water droplets come together and form small rivulets that pours deep into the interior of the Navy ship. Rain and clouds blur together and color the land and sea with the same gray monotony.

The rain drips down three and four levels of holds and hits the rain suits of longshoremen laboring below decks. And, the same rain hits Reservists of the 1192nd Transportation Terminal Brigade, of New Orleans, activated to support the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command in Operation Iraqi Freedom. And, the same water soaks the overcoats of merchant mariners working with the Military Sealift Command.

"Our work and our mission goes on--the weather is immaterial," said Col. Sandy Sanders, commander. "We are always careful but with the poor weather we add increased scrutiny to our safety procedures.

"Rain or not, we maintain our schedule."

Safety in all conditions is a prime goal of unit operations, said Lt. Col. Douglas Athey, the 1192nd's chief of operations.

Prior to each work shift there is a detailed safety briefing, said Athey.

"We provide up-to-the moment weather conditions including the wet bulb temperature," said Athey. "During the operation, we want to ensure our Soldiers are getting adequate food and rest."

In hot weather there are additional challenges, he said.

"We provide plenty of water stations and ensure our Soldiers drink water; not only in the work shift but off-duty as well."

SDDC's chief of safety, Maj. Mark Wyrosdick, said human error is the most common cause of injuries and accidents.

Although the tonnage of cargo shipments in fiscal year 2003 increased five fold because of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, SDDC's accident rate held steady at less than 1 percent, said Wyrosdick.

SDDC had two fatalities during the past year's heavy equipment movement to Afghanistan and Iraq-a Soldier and a longshoreman. Both occurred in September 2003 at the port of Ash Shuaiba in Kuwait, and both were attributed to human error.

Safety is everyone's responsibility; from longshoreman to the captain of the port, said Wyrosdick.

"Involvement by the leadership at the upper level, the noncommissioned officer level and foreman level is the best way to prevent accidents and injuries," said Wyrosdick, an Air Force officer. "Hopefully the leaders can see and correct unsafe practices to prevent someone from getting hurt."