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By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Caleb Strong
U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF OPERATIONS – Amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) earned the Blue H, the Navy Surgeon General’s Health Promotion and Wellness Award, gold star, May 16, for the 5th consecutive year.
“The Blue H award is the Navy Surgeon General’s recognition of a command that has reached a level of health promotion for the entire crew,” explained Medical Administration Officer Lt. Matthew Forbes.
The Blue H evaluates how each unit improved workplace health promotion policies, activities and outcomes in areas such as; healthy eating, active living, tobacco-free living, sexual, reproductive and psychological health, injury and violence-free living, responsible drinking and weight management.
For fiscal year 2016, the Bataan attained a level of excellence in health, wellness and fitness due to the efforts of the health promotion coordinator, command fitness leader, safety department, and drug and alcohol prevention advocate which all align with Bataan’s medical department’s programs and policies.
“The Blue H has a large medical aspect and medical drives it, but it really has an entire command view so it takes a lot of the different elements of how we incorporate different command programs of the ship and put them together,” said Forbes.
Along with being healthy, Navy and Marine Corps commands attempting to earn the award enables comparison and analysis across both services on their health status to the Bureau of Navy Medicine.
There are different levels to the award; Bronze Anchor, Silver Eagle and Gold Star. Every organization that submits for the award receives a Bronze Anchor. To earn Silver, a unit must attain a minimum of 50 percent of available points in every topic. To earn the Gold Star, a unit must attain a minimum of 50 percent of available points in every topic, achieve key must-do criteria and also achieve 80 percent of the total available points, which Bataan did.
Bataan has received this award so many times because of crew mentality and spirit. The crew frequently hosts events like fun runs and fitness competitions always showing full support.
“Blue H is command level and it speaks for the culture on the ship,” added Forbes. “When we do the chiefs birthday run and the sexual assault prevention and response run, we always see a large response from the Sailors who are willing to go to these events and do more not only for themselves, but for the command.”
Bataan continues to earn this award by working as a unit and striving to improve.
“Something that contributes to our success in the future is a commitment by leadership to help promote healthy living and a healthy lifestyle for our Sailors and commitment by the Sailors to strive for themselves and for their shipmates,” concluded Forbes “It’s all built by Sailors by eating and living a healthy life style.”
Bataan and its ready group are deployed in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of maritime security operations designed to reassure allies and partners, and preserve the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in the region.
| Date Taken: | 05.16.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 05.22.2017 01:07 |
| Story ID: | 234651 |
| Location: | U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY |
| Web Views: | 50 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Bataan Receives Blue H Gold Star Award 5th Year in a Row, by SCPO Anastasia McCarroll, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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