Fort Campbell receives Armywide explosives safety award

By Megan Locke Simpson, Fort Campbell CourierOctober 9, 2015

Fort Campbell receives Armywide explosives safety award
Chris Croley, Quality Assurance Specialist (Ammunition Surveillance), and Josh Knott, Ammunition Supply Point accountable officer, check over some of the ammunition boxes stored in a bunker at Fort Campbell, Thursday morning. They are two of the empl... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- (Oct. 9, 2015) For the second time in five years, Fort Campbell is being recognized for a job well done. U.S. Army Garrison Fort Campbell received the Army Excellence in Explosives Safety Award for Fiscal Year 2014 -- an honor bestowed by the Secretary of the Army and the Army Chief of Staff.

Garrisons are required to self-nominate for the Army Awards of Excellence in Safety, and Fort Campbell snagged Installation Management Command-level honors before competing in the servicewide competition. The Army Excellence in Explosive Safety Award is one of 10 unit or individual honors in the annual competition. According to Fort Campbell Installation Safety Office Director Mike Johnson, the best management and operation of an installation-level explosives safety program is what helped Fort Campbell take home the honor for the second time since Fiscal Year 2010.

"It basically just acknowledges that we have a well-run Explosives Safety Management Program," Johnson said. "Of course, it's a team really. It's a team effort."

With the Installation Safety Office taking primary oversight for the Explosives Safety Management Program, they work in conjunction with the Logistics Readiness Center's Quality Assurance Specialist (Ammunition Surveillance), unit ammunition officers and safety officers, the Directorate of Public Works, the Directorate of Emergency Services and the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security, as well as DynCorp and other agencies.

"The efforts of all these team members really make the Fort Campbell Explosives Safety Management Program what it is," Johnson said.

The Installation Safety Office hosts quarterly Explosives Safety Councils and a semiannual working group with many of these key players to make sure information is exchanged in a timely manner. A Joint Inspection Team, with representatives from the Installation Safety Office, QASAS, Physical Security and the Fort Campbell Fire Department, inspect ammo bunkers and arms rooms to ensure storage compliance and other standards.

"We review ongoing projects and initiatives and we get feedback from the unit ammo officers and safety officers," Johnson said. "Those are important meetings and very productive, and I think that's a key initiative regarding maintaining our proficiency and the status of the overall program."

Along with these recurring initiatives, the Installation Safety Office took the lead for the Department of the Army G4 evaluation in August 2014. Earlier this year, the office also completed a comprehensive regulation regarding the Explosives Safety Management Program for the installation (CAM Regulation 385-10).

"We were asked to author a standalone CAM REG that captured basically all explosive safety management functions and responsibilities, so we did that," Johnson said. "It basically lays out the responsibilities of every unit on Campbell that handles ammunition and explosives. It's a fairly comprehensive [regulation]."

Mandatory training for Soldiers with ammunition and explosive duties is provided by DPTMS, with 365 participants enrolled throughout FY14. Range safety orientation briefings are also required for leaders in the ranks of staff sergeant through captain to further instruct about safe handling and transportation of ammunition and explosives.

"They're first line supervisors," Johnson said. "Especially at the staff sergeant level. So the focus there is to ensure that they understand safe handling of ammunition. How to properly transport it. How to store it correctly."

With so many aspects in play, Johnson said a great amount of manpower and effort goes into making this particular program a success.

"There was a lot of preparation that went into the DA G4 evaluation," Johnson said. "This is kind of the fruits of the labor so to speak."

However, Johnson reiterated that what makes Fort Campbell's program so successful is the teamwork mentality exhibited by garrison agencies and units alike.

"I think probably what sets us apart from the other installations is the makeup of the Explosives Safety Management Team," he said. "If you look at the makeup of the team, individually, we really couldn't accomplish what we have. The team members work so well together and everybody's on board with the safe handling and storage of munitions … we want to sustain that and we want to build on that."

The Explosives Safety Management Program is just one aspect of the Installation Safety Office's daily operations. Johnson said the office's mission remains to "prevent prevent accidental fatalities and injuries and property damage accidents and occupational illnesses for the garrison workforce and to provide base operations safety support for the 101st and all tenants on the installation."

"We're just fortunate that we've got a great team together that works well together and is all focused on the same result, which is no accidents, no incidents and that we're staying in compliance with the safety requirements," Johnson said.

"Apparently we're doing a pretty good job of it. There's always room for improvement, but that's the name of the game if we want to continue to improve and continue to build on what we've gained."

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