Accidents on and off duty pose a greater threat than combat to U.S. service members.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has challenged the department to step up its investment in safety technologies while incorporating best safety practices.

Since 2003, the Defense Safety Oversight Council has worked to reduce preventable accidents in the military, which affect operational readiness and cost the department more than $3 billion annually.

Military officials regularly review statistics examining preventable accidents across the board for all services, including civilian "lost day" rates, private vehicle fatality rates, injury rates and aviation Class A accident rates - those that result in loss of life or aircraft damage of more than $1 million.

Defense Department officials have embraced technology that makes military equipment safer and have initiated programs to raise awareness of preventable accidents.

Class A accidents, for example, have seen a 45 percent reduction from 2002 to 2009.

USAF Col. Peter Mapes, a pilot-physician for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, briefed Navy Vice Adm. Thomas Kilcline, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet Naval Air Force, on the importance of using a GPS system onboard any military service helicopter to reduce accidents the military labels as controlled flight into terrain, or CFIT.

Kilcline made using a GPS system a top priority for naval aviation. Such accidents are the leading cause of death among Army and Air Force helicopter crews, claiming an average of six aircraft and 10 people per year.

"Every single life costs us dearly as a nation," Mapes said. "This GPS system is remarkable in detecting weather hazards and other dangers that could easily save a pilot's life."