Faced with its worst safety performance since operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, in 1999 Army Aviation leaders reversed the downward safety trend through proven safety techniques such as increased involvement of leaders, discipline, and strict adherence to standards. A long-term initiative developed by the Aviation Safety Investment Strategy Team (ASIST) to maintain and improve safety gains includes a program to assist commanders in evaluating their safety programs, a course in hazard identification and risk management for NCO's, and a course instructing junior officers in their responsibilities for integrating safety in all aspects of planning and execution of training and operations.