Photo By Sgt. Jack Adamyk | Reah Andrews, S-4 Logistics, Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow is the SGE of Region...... read more read more
A member of the Voluntary Protection Program committee aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, California, has been named the top Special Government Employee in her region.
Reah Andrews, Supply Management Specialist, S-4 Logistics, was named the SGE of the year for Region IX after her name was submitted for consideration by base safety manager Ray Aguilar. The base safety office manages and administers VPP activities aboard base.
“Region IX encompasses California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, and the Mariana Islands,” Aguilar said. “It is a huge area that our eight SGEs help administer to ensure that the culture of safety at both Marine Corps and private industry sites continues to thrive.”
“Reah is an active contributor within the Region IX Voluntary Protection Programs Participant Association (VPPPA),” Aguilar said. “She also serves at the VPP Steering Committee chairperson and has mentored other Marine Corps’ and private industry installations on how to achieve their own VPP Safety Star status.”
“I really love being an SGE,” Andrews said. “I enjoy the work that comes with it. I like teaching, mentoring, learning, auditing, and assisting in the VPP process with other installations.”
The choice of Andrews for the recognition continues the long-standing tradition MCLB Barstow has in producing top quality SGEs, Aguilar said. This is the eighth time in the past 12 years that an SGE from this base has been chosen as either the best in Region IX or the best in the entire Department of Defense.
“MCLB Barstow first achieved VPP Safety Star status in 2008, becoming the first Marine Corps installation to be recognize for its top quality safety practices,” he continued. “We not only were the first to get the VPP Star, but the first base in the Corps to get recertified for the honor twice.”
There are eight employees aboard base who participate in the VPP committee, but to loosely paraphrase a Biblical quote, many are called but few are chosen to actually become SGEs.
“Not all VPP committee members are SGEs,” Andrews said. “There are extra requirements that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration imposes in order for a person to be named an SGE. Whether you’re an SGE or not, being on a committee is very rewarding in itself. It’s a lot of fun, and extremely helpful to the base in keeping our VPP Star status.”
As an SGE, Andrews said her job varies when she is called upon to mentor an installation or business.
“Often, we inspect on behalf of OSHA into the private company or Department of Defense site programs,” she explained. “We help determine if they are either qualified to become a Star site, continue to be a Star site, or need more assistance in certain areas.”
“A majority of the Marine Corps sites our SGEs have mentored during the past twelve years have gained their own VPP Star Site recognition,” Aguilar said. “The contributions Reah and our other SGEs make in mentoring these sites are one of the main reasons those industries and bases continue to be recognized for their own outstanding culture of safety within the guidelines of OSHA’s VPP requirements.”
“As SGEs we assist OSHA by supplementing its on-site evaluation teams at both Marine Corps and private industry installations,” Andrews said. “But we learn from them just as they learn from us. The best practices that we bring back from other sites during our mentoring activities are incorporated into our safety programs. It’s a win-win situation for all parties involved.”
“Reah has greatly contributed to the well-being and safety of her fellow workers, Marines, friends, and family members, and the public in general. Her efforts have had a significant impact on her base and have helped sustain MCLB Barstow as a model VPP Star site to be emulated throughout the Marine Corps, DoD, and all work sites,” Aguilar concluded.
The Region IX VPPPA Safety Summit set to take place in Las Vegas this year was where Andrews was to receive her official recognition as the SGE of the year. Because of COVID restrictions, that summit has been cancelled, according to the Region IX board of directors at htttps://www.regionixvpppa.org/.
| Date Taken: | 07.23.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 07.23.2020 19:06 |
| Story ID: | 374499 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 95 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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