Garrison paves way in Army safety training

By Chelsea Bissell, U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria Public AffairsOctober 1, 2014

Discussing the details
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Jerrold J. Scharninghausen, Public Health Command Region Europe industrial hygiene specialist, discusses interview techniques with Mike Kirwan, U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz safety specialist and Carol Fontanese, Installation Management Command ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Thinking hard
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Interviewing tips
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GRAFENWOEHR, Germany (Oct. 1, 2014) -- This month, U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria has emerged as a leader in safety training in Europe and in the Army.

From Sept. 22 - Oct. 8, USAG Bavaria Safety Office is hosting the National Safety Council's Advanced Safety Certification course for safety managers in European garrisons.

This marks the first time any Army installation has initiated the NCS's in-house training at this level.

Carol Fontanese, Installation Management Command Europe region safety director, commended William Whitman, USAG Bavaria safety director, for inaugurating the program within the Army.

"This is setting the stage for us to implement the Army Safety and Health Management system in Europe," said Fontanese. "By sponsoring this class, (Whitman) is leading the way for all garrisons in the region."

For three weeks, the group of 10 safety managers will use the round-table seminar to review safety and health essentials, management techniques and program and team-building.

During training, they discussed topics with conviction. Opinions fired across the table as the safety leaders debated managerial approaches, strategies and compared programs.

The impassioned back-and-forth of the group in USAG Bavaria makes the training more effective, said Tim Neubauer, Safety Management Solutions senior consultant and the NSC trainer.

"Those meaningful discussions are what a training leader dreams of," said Neubauer. "And we always stay on-topic."

This level of group interaction is a goal of the training, continued Neubauer, for it provides safety leaders the opportunity to share ideas to eventually improve their local programs.

Within USAG Bavaria, Whitman hopes to integrate safety training and standards into more programs and events.

"If we can make safety a value, as part of everyday culture, than that's better for the garrison," he said.

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