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By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jacob Goff, USS George Washington Public Affairs
In the Navy, it is common to undergo training meant to keep Sailors safe, but oftentimes that training contributes to the safety of those nearby as well. The state of Virginia recognized the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) for their contributions to driving safety during the 2017 Governor’s Transportation Safety Awards in Richmond, Virginia.
“For you all to step up and engage safety with us on our roads is really important to us and we’re really grateful,” said the Honorable Brian Moran, secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The road to the Employer Safety award was started when DRIVE SMART representatives were flown on to the ship for three days last year to give safe driving presentations.
The whole command had a hand in bringing them out and supporting them while they were here,” said Senior Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Fueling) Benjamin Dammann, the safety department leading chief petty officer. “We knew we were going into the refueling and complex overhaul period, and with Sailors having more time off of work and on the road, we knew this was an important time to do this.”
The award was a welcome surprise to George Washington’s safety department.
“This is not a normal award that a ship or naval organization would receive, being that it’s a state program,” said Dammann. “I think this was actually the first time a military organization has won this award.”
This recognition breaks ground for more cooperation between civilian organizations like DRIVE SMART and Navy organizations.
“Hopefully this isn’t the last time we see the Navy represented at one of these presentations,” said Moran. “We have an enormous military presence in the Commonwealth of Virginia and it probably means we have to do more to grow those relationships and engage you more. So it’s probably the first of many awards coming to our military.”
Looking to the future, George Washington’s safety department expects to see more effort put in to safe driving.
Dammann said the command’s safety standdown from July 17-18 hosted representatives from DRIVE SMART Virginia who spoke with Sailors about the importance of traveling the right way.
The key to making this award count is every Sailor continuing to push for safe driving every time they take to the road.
For more information on driving safety, contact the safety department office on the FAF at 757-534-0144 or visit the DRIVE SMART Virginia website at drivesmartva.org.
Join the conversation with GW online at www.facebook.com/USSGW and www.twitter.com/GW_CVN73. For more news from USS George Washington, visit www. Navy.mil/local/cvn73/.
| Date Taken: | 07.27.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 12.30.2017 23:01 |
| Story ID: | 261005 |
| Location: | RICHMOND, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 38 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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