Fort Jackson puts knowledge to the test during safety stand-down

FORT JACKSON, S.C. -- Tuesday's U.S. Army Garrison Fort Jackson safety stand-down was recognized in different ways on Fort Jackson. Some units marked the occasion with formal presentations on safety concerns specific to their mission. Others took the time to brush up on standard protocol.

Fort Jackson's Directorate of Emergency Services and Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation decided to play a game. Personnel from those offices gathered Tuesday morning at the Solomon Center to compete against each other in "Who Wants to be a Safety Millionaire?"

Questions about Fort Jackson's safety standards were asked, points were awarded and, in the end, DES took the top spot.

"All of the questions we asked were from the safety fundamentals course," said Garrison Safety Manager Ron Ross. "Everybody on the installation is required to take it."

The various garrison staffs spent the day doing inspections and reviewing topics such as industrial and administrative safety, and evaluating Occupational Safety and Health Administration Voluntary Protection Programs. The programs recognize employers and workers in the private industry and federal agencies who have implemented effective safety and health management systems and maintain injury and illness rates below national Bureau of Labor Statistics averages for their respective industries.

"We want our standards to be better than Army standards, and to be better than industry standards," Ross said.

"Every day we have civilians and Soldiers who go out there and have accidents that can sometimes be fatal," Garrison Command Sgt. Maj. Ernest Lee told the Solomon Center audience. "I'm glad you took your time to come out here and support this cause."

"It's been a success," Ross said. "We hope that it will make more people come out the next time we have a safety standdown."

The next garrison safety stand-down is scheduled for April.