Two batteries from the 2nd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment received the 2nd Brigade Combat Team Safety Streamer at the battalion's headquarters here, Nov. 6.
Bravo and Golf Batteries each earned the Brigade Safety Streamer for their dedication to safety throughout the past year.
The accomplishment is significant, said Lt. Col. Albert Paquin, 2-319th AFAR commander. Out of more than 30 company-sized elements in the Falcon Brigade, these batteries are the first to be awarded the streamer so far.
To earn the streamer, each unit must meet annual safety goals. Some of the goals include having no accidents resulting in permanent injury or death, no personnel charged with drunken driving and all Paratroopers must complete Composite Risk Management training.
Kenneth Taylor, 2nd Brigade's Safety Manager, says that earning the streamer shows that the unit embraces the Army's Safety Program.
"It's a combat multiplier for our organization," said Taylor. "We're not losing critical assets out there due to accidents which are preventable."
"Now, we have many more soldiers that are able to perform their war-time functions."
The award speaks volumes of Paratroopers' dedication to discipline, said 1st. Sgt. Joey Ruiz, Bravo Battery's senior noncommissioned officer.
"It's indicative of the paratroopers we have in the 82nd Airborne Division," said Ruiz. "It's a conscious effort on everybody's part to do the right thing."
"We got this, but we can't stop," he said. "Safety is always the number one priority for everything we do, on and off-duty."
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