Christopher Trumble, who in 2008 earned a master’s degree from EKU in Safety, Security, and Emergency Management and is now a Department of the Army Civilian System safety engineer for the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command Safety Office, recently received the System Safety Society's 2017 Engineer of the Year Award.
Trumble was honored for "being focused on integrating the system safety effort with related disciplines such as systems engineering, electrical engineering, and human factors, both on the job and in the International System Safety Society (ISSS)" and recognized as "an outstanding role model for the younger system safety engineers in the AMCOM Safety Office and in the wider community of the ISSS."
As the organization safety engineer responsible for AH-64 Apache (D and E models), aircraft systems, Trumble’s responsibilities include the oversight of system safety throughout the life cycle of the systems. These responsibilities include active participation in system safety working group meetings, coordination of all airworthiness release documents, coordination of system safety risk assessments, analysis of accident trends, and other special analysis as required.
After earning a degree in mechanical engineering in 1986, Trumble started his engineering career at a chemical manufacturing facility, where he was responsible for plant maintenance engineering to include safety and emergency planning/response efforts. He then transitioned to the Centre of Forensic Science (CFS) in Toronto, Canada, as a forensic firearms expert. After six years of providing expertise in weapons, armor, and forensics, he was recruited by the United States government in 1996 to provide expertise to U.S. law enforcement, military and government agencies. He worked for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, where he assisted federal, state, county and municipal law enforcement agencies and testified as an expert witness in criminal court. He has also worked on military projects with the U.S. Naval Space Warfare Center (SPAWAR) and United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Following the 9/11 attacks, he accepted employment at the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory (USAARL) as a research engineer working on protective equipment for airborne soldiers. In 2005 he then went to work for the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center as a system safety engineer, responsible for providing system safety management engineering oversight over Army Acquisition Category (ACAT) I programs (airborne, ground vehicles, and weapon systems). Additionally, he was a co-chair for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)/Joint Planning Development Office (JPDO) Safety Management Integration Standing Committee (SMI SC). He transferred to Redstone Arsenal in 2010 to work for the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) in his capacity as a safety engineer to provide system safety engineering management oversight for the AH-64 Attack helicopter program and serve as a system safety policy subject matter expert.
“The education I received while attending EKU assisted in enhancing my professional skill set by developing specialized knowledge of safety, security and emergency management concepts,” Trumble said. “EKU encouraged advanced critical thinking via interactions with professors and student peers experienced in the profession who challenged you to support your position(s) and provide concrete rationales for decisions. The class became a stage where you could rehearse for your future professional performance and success.”
He has previously received awards for his work from The International System Safety Society- Tennessee Valley Chapter, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, Golden Key International Honor Society, U.S. Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center, U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Association of Firearms and Toolmark Examiners.
Inset photo: Chris Trumble is at right.