NAS Jax wins second consecutive safety award

The award was presented to NAS Jax Commanding Officer Capt. Jack Scorby Jr. by Director for Aviation and Operational Safety Kurt Garbow, on behalf of Deputy Assistant SECNAV (Safety) Tom Rollow Aug. 15. This comes after the base won the Chief of Naval Operations' Safety Award last March. The award continues the station's long history of safety excellence.

"This is a great achievement for NAS Jax because it represents a culture of safety that's almost unsurpassed. These awards are not just handed out, they have to be earned and it takes a lot of hard work, dedicated leadership and there are some really compassionate safety professionals here," said Garbow.

"Secretary of the Navy Dr. Winter has challenged all of us to never accept the loss of an individual, a piece of equipment or the injury of an individual that results in the loss of one or more workdays at the cost of doing our business. He's the first SECNAV who has ever said his goal is zero," Garbow added. "NAS Jax has done phenomenal things. The base has a solid safety program; the Occupational Safety and Health Program here is just tops. It's with great pleasure that I present this award today."

NAS Jax continues to ensure safety is priority in the way the base does business each and every day. "We are really happy to earn this award for the second consecutive year but it's all the people here who keep doing the right things that allow our mishap

NAS Jax wins second consecutive safety awardrates to drop and earn these awards. I would trade in all our awards though, if we could go one year without a single mishap. That's our goal, to not have anyone get hurt," said NAS Jax Safety Officer Ron Williamson. "It's nice to be recognized but we're more appreciative of the people who come here every day and do their work safely."

During the past three years NAS Jax saw a significant number of civilian mishaps drop from 44 in fiscal year 2003 to nine in fiscal year 2006. During that same time, government motor vehicle accidents also decreased by half. The base was also accepted into the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Challenge Program as part of the three-step process to VPP certification. Safety training was also provided to all base supervisors on the VPP action guide.

The station reported no formal written reports of unsafe/unhealthy working conditions during fiscal year 2006. Other initiatives that contributed to the overall success of the base safety program include a successful fire prevention program, disaster preparedness drills, an ergonomic program, ordnance/explosives safety program, recreational safety program, occupational health program. Together these programs worked to prevent injuries and further improve work efficiency throughout the station.

"I can't think of a better way to start off my tenure here than to accept this award on behalf of the NAS Jax team," said Scorby. "Very shortly, you will see my command philosophy and the top issue I will push is to safely accomplish our mission. I accept this for the entire team at NAS Jax and I fully expect to be receiving this award again next year."