Letterkenny Munitions Center received Secretary of the Army and Chief of Staff, Army, Excellence in Explosives Safety Award for the fiscal year of 2011 during its annual Safety Stand Down Aug. 2, 2012
The award reflects the dedication toward safety while working with explosive material and devices by all of the LEMC employees. LEMC is located in Chambersburg, Pa., with more than 200 employees. According to LEMC Director Ed Averill, this was the first time the LEMC employees earned the award.
"Personally, it is a great accomplishment. It is even more important when you consider the large number of new employees versus 'old timers' we have now," Averill said. "Right now we have a
workforce where 25 percent have more than 30 years of service, but 50 percent have less than 10 years. So we have a mix of youth learning the ins and outs of working with explosives, and a large number of people who have been working with explosives for a long time. We have managed to avoid incidents that may come from inexperience in one group and complacency in the other. This is a testament to the Safety Program and the dedication and attentiveness of the work force."
LEMC Safety Specialist Erin Shoemaker explained that the award is a competitive award among all installations in the U.S. Army as a part of the Army Safety Awards Program. The Army Safety Awards Program is accountable for recognizing outstanding work in the field of safety by individuals as well as by units.
"The workforce considers safety to be paramount when working in the inherently hazardous environment that comes along with working with explosives," Shoemaker said. "Through the use of collaborative efforts from both employees and management, LEMC ensures the safest working environment is afforded to every employee. LEMC has been actively pursuing the status of being one of OSHA's Voluntary Protection Program Star Sites since 2006. LEMC's target to becoming a VPP Star Site is 2013."
Additionally Crane Army Ammunition Activity, which has command and control authority over LEMC, received the Excellence in Explosives Safety (Brigade Level) from the Army Materiel Command for fiscal year 2011.
"This award is a testament to the great things that CAAA workforce does every day, providing our Warfighters materiel safely, all across the globally networked logistics enterprise," AMC Safety Director John Manfre wrote to CAAA. "A thorough knowledge and institution of the Composite Risk Management Process were instrumental in driving CAAA toward safe mission accomplishment.
CAAA was established in Oct. 1977 and is a subordinate of the Joint Munitions Command. The Army activity maintains ordnance professionals and infrastructure to receive, store, ship, produce, renovate and demilitarize conventional ammunition, missiles and related components.
LEMC is a government owned, government operated installation. Since 1999, command and control of LEMC have been under Crane Army Ammunition Activity as a directorate.
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