401st AFSB awarded Safety Streamer

Photo By Mary Barkley | 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command Commanding General Brig. Gen. Donnie B. Walker, Jr. presents a citation recognizing the award of a Safety Excellence Streamer to 401st Army Field Support Brigade Commander Col. Matthew J. Ferguson, a Tampa, Fla., native, Sept. 13 at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. Standing with them are Brett A. Blount, 401st AFSB safety director, Command Sgt. Maj. Wendy A. Robinson, 401st AFSB command sergeant major, a Burgaw, N.C., native, and Sgt. Maj. Douglas L. Emmons 1TSC(F)/3ESC support operations sergeant major.  

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN

09.13.2014

Story by Mary Barkley 

401st Army Field Support Brigade

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Brig. Gen. Donnie Walker Jr., commanding general of 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, attached the Safety Excellence Streamer to the brigade guidon at the 401st AFSB brigade headquarters Sept. 13. The Safety Excellence Streamer is awarded to brigades who have completed 12 consecutive months without a "Soldier/unit at fault Class A or B accident."

Walker noted this is only the second Safety Excellence Streamer he has awarded during his current tour and the first at a brigade formation.

“This is not an easy award to attain,” he said.

He went on to note that the 401st AFSB has many people working on and moving large equipment. Walker said the achievement was due to the brigade having the right focus, standards and discipline.

“I’m extremely proud to present this streamer,” he added.

The 401st AFSB commander, Col. Matthew J. Ferguson, a Tampa, Florida native, said the brigade has a "culture of safety" that is necessary given the unit’s industrial focus, rotational workforce and the many moving pieces across the brigade. He applauded the professional focus of the workforce.

When Ferguson announced that the brigade would be awarded the Safety Excellence Streamer during a recent command and staff meeting, he noted that the brigade encompasses locations across Afghanistan and currently has more than 19,000 personnel.

The Safety Excellence Streamer is green ribbon with two white stripes and a white embroidered inscription “SAFETY EXCELLENCE” is authorized to indicate accident prevention measures and success. The streamer is authorized for brigades or equivalent units that have completed 12 consecutive months without a Soldier/unit at fault Class A or B accident. A Class A accident in one in which the resulting total cost of property damage is $2,000,000 or more; an Army aircraft or missile is destroyed, missing, or abandoned; or an injury and/or occupational illness results in a fatality or permanent total disability. A Class B accident is one in which the resulting total cost of property damage is $500,000 or more, but less than $2,000,000; an injury and/or occupational illness results in permanent partial disability, or when 3 or more personnel are hospitalized as inpatients as the result of a single occurrence. The streamer may be displayed by the organization for one year, at the expiration of which the unit must re-qualify.

• Date Taken: 09.13.2014
• Date Posted: 09.18.2014 01:21
• Story ID: 142484
• Location: BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF
• Hometown: BURGAW, NC, US
• Hometown: TAMPA, FL, US