I'll be sure, Always.

The moment right before a paratrooper exits the door, several emotions explode in their mind:

1. Fear

2. Exhilaration

3. Letting the training take over.

4. Trust.

Trust.?Such a powerful word, a word that can make or break relationships in business and our personal lives.?It is a word that invokes thoughts of peace and tranquility, and safety.

Imagine, if you can, having that feeling of trust the moment you step out of an Air Force cargo plane at 1300 feet, at three o'clock in the morning, with 200 pounds of gear and weaponry.

Imagine handing that over to the stranger that packed your parachute.

Trust.

This trust is there because it is known that riggers live by a code: "I will be sure Always!"?We know we are packing someone's life when we pack those parachutes.?U.S. Army Parachute Riggers have an uncanny skill for attention to detail.?It is probably identified early in ASVAB scores and then trained into our brains at rigger school.?If not applied correctly, we are taught that the smallest detail in the process could have catastrophic consequences; for our craft, it could be a brother or sister's life.

In the 1990s, at the 82nd Airborne Division, we had a regular training jump one night.?

We'd done it a dozen times; we had the training, YAY!?an extra $110 in my paycheck.

We loaded up into C-130s at Greenramp, Pope Army Airfield, and off in the night we go.?We fly for a while, and then the jumpmasters scream over the roaring of the C-130 engines, "10 MINUTES!' This is the beginning of the process of exiting an aircraft in the U.S. Army and is a process of many steps and checks before we are ready to jump.

We finish the process and are on standby, waiting to get the "GREEN LIGHT GO, GO, GO!" to start exiting the aircraft.?While waiting, we suddenly get waved off by the dropzone staff due to high winds on Sicily DZ.?The C-130 starts accelerating to perform a race track which is a long oval around the DZ, to realign for the jump for a second try.?

We complete the race track, do an equipment check, and prepare for the jump.?The jump masters get the go from the DZ Team, and here we go!

"ONE MINUTE!" yells the Jumpmaster.

The jump light turns green, and we start the 'Airborne Shuffle' toward the door.?The paratrooper door comes into view, and out the door we go.

We float down, land, collect our equipment, start the hustle to the rally point, and form a perimeter in the sand.?On a typical training night, we hold this circle for about thirty minutes, confirm headcount, and pack up to return to our unit area.

On this night, at hour three of holding the perimeter, we got word that an accident had occurred.

During the racetrack, the plane's paratroopers stay hooked up and ready so that everyone is ready to go when the racetrack is complete—on this race track, one of the paratroopers on our jump loosened up their leg straps to try and relax their legs.?Doing a racetrack in a C-130 low-level flight, standing hooked up with two hundred pounds of equipment, is... FUN.

When we realigned for the second try, this paratrooper forgot to retighten their leg straps and stow the excess strap, and while exiting the aircraft, was hung up by that very leg strap.?Horrible.

Back at the dropzone, the mood was sad, confused, and dreadful for some of us, especially riggers.

"Was it rigger error?" was probably the first thought that crossed every rigger who jumped that night, not only because of the legal liability it would put us under but because of the belief we hold of the importance of correctly packing a parachute.?Later we found out it wasn't our process that broke but rather the individual's self-check process that needed to be followed.

Surely you have heard the saying the 'Devil is in the Details.'

A process is a series of actions or steps taken to achieve a particular end.?Following and ensuring that the process and all its tasks are followed every single time as specified is vital to reducing risk.

Two lifetimes later, I am a Governance, Risk, and Compliance professional, and the details still matter.?

I help organizations apply information security frameworks to their systems and administrative processes.?Applying a framework for using and managing your technology and information assets is critical.?But even more important is having someone who knows and understands those GRC details and how to apply them to your technology and information or having an external team to help you on that GRC journey.

Don't assume that you have satisfied a control.?Refrain from thinking that you may or may not need to apply a specific control to your technology stack.?Make sure.?Hire a professional.

GRC is seen as painful and downright annoying.?Still, those in charge of organizations at the highest levels and information technology asset owners must understand that the name of the game is reducing risk.?The risk to your company, your employees, and their lively hood, and at the highest risk to our national security.

Following a process reduces risk and unknown variables.??

Implementing industry frameworks (#CMMC, #CIS, #ISO, #NIST, #HITRUST, #SOC, #UCF) gives organizations a strategy to manage their systems consistently and thoroughly that reduces risk over time.

When it comes to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your information technology and the information it holds, Be sure always!

#AATW #Illbesurealways #risk #process #grc