AFNWC uses mascots, AI to foster safety culture

Every year, Air Force safety professionals face the same dilemma: How do you make summertime safety fresh and engaging for an audience that’s heard it all before?

Andre Clement, acting director of safety at the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, decided to let the workforce craft its own message.

“Summer is the busiest travel and recreation season of the year, but it has its own set of risks,” Clement said. “The Air Force created the ‘101 Critical Days of Summer’ to remind people of those risks, but our challenge as safety professionals is to help people keep those risks top of mind. That’s hard to do if you’re reusing the same content every year.”

Four years ago, Clement launched the AFNWC 101 safety mascot challenge. AFNWC team members submitted pictures of their pets to serve as the center’s safety mascot. Center personnel vote for their favorite mascot, and the chosen pet is featured in the summer safety messages.

“It’s been very popular,” Clement said. “People really enjoyed seeing photos of Pablo, Arnie and Lilo, our first three safety mascots. I think they paid more attention to the messages because of our safety dogs.”

This year, Clement added a new twist to the mascot challenge. AFNWC team members were asked to use AI tools to design their entries, embracing Air Force Materiel Command’s drive for digital innovation.

"We wanted to see how the team could use emerging AI capabilities to amplify our safety messaging," Clement said. "The buy-in was absolutely incredible. We saw a level of creativity and engagement that proved you can have a blast while keeping your eyes on the ultimate prize: protecting our people."

All AFNWC personnel — military members, civilians and contractors — were allowed to vote on the entries. The winner was Peachy, a ginger cat in a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses, accompanied by the slogan "Good Decisions Today. Safe Airmen Tomorrow!" The mascot will serve as the face of AFNWC’s safety campaign throughout the summer.

Over the past four years, Clement’s mascot initiative has shifted the dynamic of the annual safety campaign from a traditional safety briefing into an interactive, centerwide conversation.

"When people vote on a mascot, they connect not only with the pet or design, but with the core message," Clement said. "Whether you're firing up the grill, hitting the water or hitting the road, keeping Peachy’s slogan front and center will help personnel make those smart risk-management calls."

As the Air Force embraces AI and other digital transformation tools, AFNWC’s AI mascot challenge can serve as a powerful best practice for safety professionals enterprisewide. It demonstrates that with a little creativity and a willingness to embrace new tools, safety messaging can be both highly effective and highly anticipated.

With Peachy serving as this summer’s safety mascot, Clement said he hopes for another successful campaign.

“With Peachy leading the charge, Team AFNWC is locked in and ready for another legacy year of zero off-duty mishaps,” he said.