101 Days of Summer heat up MCAS Yuma

Photo By Cpl. Sean Dennison | A Marine with Marine Wing Support Squadron 371 competes in the push-up competition, May 22, 2012 at MCAS Yuma's "101 Days of Summer" safety fair. Marines and Sailors attended this year's safety fair in order to learn sound operational risk management during the summer months. Marines and sailors enjoyed a day of activities such as rock climbing, motor bike demonstrations, food and more. They were presented with several instructional classes regarding summer safety. The period between Memorial Day and Labor Day is designated as the "101 Days of Summer" because historically it is known as an extremely dangerous time for people.  

YUMA, AZ, UNITED STATES

05.24.2012

Story by Lance Cpl. Sean Dennison 

Marine Corps Air Station Yuma

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION YUMA, Ariz. — MCAS Yuma kicked off the 101 Days of Summer with its annual health and safety fair, where Marines received training and education to safely enjoy the season, May 22.

The fair is held at the beginning of the "101 Days of Summer", the period of time when, historically, the most accidents and deaths occur among Marines and sailors.

In 2011 the station saw 15 Class A mishaps, half involving vehicular accidents.

"The 101 Days of Summer event is between Memorial Day and Labor Day and that's typically the time we see a big spike in recreational accidents and vehicle accidents," said Rick Barnes, the station's tactical safety specialist. "We have this campaign to promote safety and bring attention to it to hopefully reduce the number of accidents and mishaps during the summer vacation."

Two waves of Marines and Sailors schooled themselves on summer safety, with one group beginning at 8 a.m. and the other at 1 p.m. Several locations on base, the parade deck, base gym, base chapel, Sonoran Pueblo and the Dos Rios parking lot, all held different aspects of safety awareness for Marines to experience.

As part of a new initiative to go paperless and preserve resources, stick leaders took accountability of Marines via rosters, a change from recent years' stamp sheets, according to Barnes.

The parade deck featured the majority of events, including Red Bulls trial rider Keith Wineland, currently ranked number three in the nation, and a station crash crew water competition.

Driven to Dare, which schooled personnel on driving safety, was held at the chapel, while Semper Fit held hydration safety classes at the gym.

The Sonoran Pueblo hosted the Yuma County Sheriff's Office so they could teach boating and water safety to Marines.

• Date Taken: 05.24.2012
• Date Posted: 05.30.2012 13:23
• Story ID: 89178
• Location: YUMA, AZ, US