Photo By Laurie Pearson | Brigadier General Daniel B. Conley, Marine Corps Installations West - Marine Corps...... read more read more
Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, California, has officially earned the Marine Corps Ground Safety Award from the Commandant of the Marine Corps Safety Division, for fiscal year 2020.
“The Ground Safety Awards program provides recognition to commands and individuals for significant contributions and accomplishments in the field of safety and mishap prevention,” said Sara Montez-Diaz, Safety & Occupational Health Specialist with Base Safety.
All Marine Corps commands are eligible to submit for the award.
“If there’s one award we should covet more than any other, it’s the Marine Corps Ground Safety Award,” said Col. Craig C. Clemans, base commanding officer. “It testifies to the fact that we value safety aboard MCLBB and that going home safely to our family and friends each night is a priority we do not compromise. The award means we do not take short cuts and each member of the MCLB team is a ‘Safety Officer,’ empowered to halt any unsafe activity he or she may observe. To our Safety Office and every VPP committee member, I’m especially grateful for the extra time and effort you put into collectively challenging us to continually foster a safety conscious culture. We’ve won this honor two years in a row – fantastic job Barstow!!”
The process for submitting and being awarded the recognition requires quick work on the part of Safety personnel.
“It’s a fast turnaround,” Diaz said. “They do a Call for Nominations and they have strict guidelines regarding how the submission is written, what criteria they want to see, and what categories the base needs to fall into. We then have to get the Commander’s signature and approval, and then Commanding General’s endorsement.”
Once those approvals have been obtained, the Safety team submits the package to the Commandant of the Marine Corps Safety Division at Headquarters Marine Corps in the District of Columbia.
“The award is judged by the Marine Corps Ground Safety Awards Board with representatives from each of the Safety Division functional areas to review award nominations and make recommendations to the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps as to which locations they believe should win which award in each category,” Diaz said. “The award we received is given to the Command that has established the most outstanding safety program. They look at all sorts of areas including safety training, safety programs, safety budget, the size of our command, mishap rates, Risk management, Voluntary Protection Program and many other safety related programs here at the installation.”
When it comes to safety, it is the employees throughout the base that make these awards possible.
“I think the Base Safety Office staff always look at every award in the realm of safety and know that it’s the civilians and Marines at MCLB Barstow that make our safety program what it is… award worthy,” Diaz said. “This is the second year in a row that we won it, so to me it just is a little sweeter. This was a hard award to write this time. We had so many COVID restrictions that it took a lot of things away from us in 2020. This award shows that even though we had to go through a lot of changes, and restrictions, we found a way to still make safety a priority and to still continue to run our training and be safe no matter where the place of duty may be.”
Aboard MCLB Barstow, safety is everyone’s responsibility and with programs such as VPP, this installation shows how that can be done properly.
“I think it’s more important now than ever,” Diaz said. “Everyone’s contribution is not unnoticed in any way. We are proud of the programs and we are proud of the employees that follow this base’s safety protocols so we submit these awards to show appreciation. I have to add that this year it’s important to see that we can change and adapt and still run a stellar safety program.”
Depending on schedules, the Commanding General will present the award on behalf of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, later this year.
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| Date Taken: | 03.11.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.18.2021 14:13 |
| Story ID: | 391750 |
| Location: | BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 34 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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