Veterans Day 2022

November 11 is the day, each year, that is especially reserved for acknowledging and commemorating the service, patriotism, and sacrifice of America’s veterans. 

HFES wishes to thank all of our members who are veterans, all of our members who are currently serving in the active military or reserves, and their families. 

• Read more about the original “Armistice Day” which acknowledged the end of World War I, the “war to end all wars”.  
  • https://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp

We also want to underscore the important intersection between military personnel, their work systems, and human factors:

• Each year, we are so glad to see so many veterans and active duty service members participating in the Annual Meeting. 
  • We look forward to your participation in 2023, when the Annual Meeting will be in Washington, DC.
• Human Factors and Ergonomics is explicitly recognized in numerous US Military standards, in order to make equipment and systems safer and more effective for use by service personnel.
  • https://infoguides.rit.edu/humanfactors/military
• Learn about the History of Human Factors in US Navy Aircraft in the latter half of the 20^th century:
  • https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1071181319631405

Lastly, I will leave you with a link to the poem High Flight, written by John Gillespie Magee Jr, a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force, who was killed at the age of 19 while serving in World War II.  This poem is tucked into the frame of a photo of my father in his Air Force uniform sitting where he was happiest, in a cockpit.

https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196844/pilot-officer-john-gillespie-magee-high-flight/
 

With respect and gratitude,

Carolyn Sommerich
President, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society