Photo By Cpl. Samuel Ranney | (From left to right) Mr. Dennis McGinn, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for energy,...... read more read more
BARSTOW, Calif. - On Oct. 20, Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, California, received the Secretary of Navy’s Safety Excellence Award during a ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Dennis McGinn, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for energy, installations and environment, presented the prestigious award to Col. Michael L. Scalise, commanding officer of MCLB Barstow, and Ray Aguilar, base safety officer. MCLB Barstow received a written citation from the Secretary of the Navy, an award plaque, and the Secretary of the Navy’s Safety Excellence Flag.
“This is Barstow’s seventh consecutive year winning the award,” said Scalise. “The flag is a point of pride … not only for us as a base but for the Secretary of the Navy. He wants our base to be seen as having a superior safety program.”
Once presented the flag, the base is authorized to fly it for one year, explained Scalise. However, because MCLB Barstow keeps winning, it has been flying here for the past seven years.
“It’s a physical manifestation of the safety programs on this base,” Scalise added.
The award is open to Marine Corps and Navy installations worldwide, explained Aguilar. For the most part, MCLB Barstow was competing against all of them.
“Before a (Marine Corps) base can compete for the award, they have to be nominated by Headquarters Marine Corps,” Aguilar said. “They choose their best installations and submit them to the Navy.”
Once nominated, winners are determined by whether or not they are providing all of the core safety services to all of its tenants and to what level. Also, aside from what the base does for themselves, evaluators look at how bases work to improve the safety of other bases and the Marine Corps as a whole.
“We are frequently recognized as a base for going above and beyond the standard,” explained Aguilar. “We have gone to various bases to help make the Marine Corps a better and safer place … we are by far the largest contributor to providing safety support outside of the wire.”
Lieutenant General William Faulkner, deputy commandant of the Marine Corps for installations and logistics, stated the ultimate goal of these safety programs is to leverage best practices, conserve resources and, most importantly, significantly reduce injuries and death of our Marines and civilian Marines.
“(MCLB Barstow’s) remarkable success is in part attributed to the earning and maintaining of (OSHA’s) Voluntary Protection Program,” stated Faulkner.
MCLB Barstow is the first and only Marine Corps installation to obtain OSHA’s VPP Star Certification.
“The award simply means we are doing our job, and we are getting the support we need from the leadership of the base to do our job,” said Aguilar. “The employees and Marines here are working to protect themselves (and the people to the left and right of them).”
Aguilar added that it’s about preserving resources, human and equipment, for the mission at hand.
The safety program here sustains itself, Scalise said. It’s about the people who make things happen and keep each other safe.
“I see us continuing to win for countless years,” he added.
Not only has MCLB maintained high standards here, the base has also helped other bases and organizations achieve higher safety standards. OSHA-certified Special Government Employees on MCLB travel across the U.S. to perform audits and assist other bases in achieving VPP status, explained Scalise.
“Since receiving this award, the senior leadership level in the Marine Corps, including the commandant of the Marine Corps, has acknowledged the importance of the program and the role Barstow plays in safety and in leadership,” Scalise said. “We set the example for other bases.”
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus stated Barstow had zero Class A or Class B on-duty or off-duty mishaps, retained 13 OSHA-certified SGEs and supported other commands in their pursuit to obtain OSHA’s VPP Star status.
“The safety efforts of Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow directly enhanced the Department of the Navy’s warfighting capability. I commend (MCLB Barstow for their) commitment to safety excellence, to the nation, and to the sustainment of the Department of the Navy as a world class safety organization,” stated Mabus.
| Date Taken: | 10.20.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 11.14.2014 11:45 |
| Story ID: | 147866 |
| Location: | BARSTOW , CA, US |
| Web Views: | 124 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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