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Safety Office wins big

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jared Trimarchi
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar --  Fiscal year 2013 was a busy year for the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Safety Office at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. During the year the Airmen who make up the Safety Office were awarded a total of nine safety awards: two Air Force level awards, four Air Combat Command awards and three Air Forces Central Command awards.

The safety program here is responsible for the well-being of all Airmen, Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, civilians and coalition partners on the base and is made up of three sections: ground, flight and weapons.

The 379th AEW Safety Office was the only safety program throughout AFCENT to win Air Force level awards and was also the highest decorated office in the area of responsibility. The Safety Office here was recognized as being AFCENT's Wing Safety Program of the year.

The most recent recognition went out to Master Sgt. Christopher Calhoun, who received the Air Force Chief of Safety Special Achievement Award. Calhoun is deployed from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. and is a San Antonio, Texas native. Calhoun was also recently selected for promotion to senior master sergeant.

"I could not be more proud of the tireless efforts of the 379th AEW's flight, ground and weapons safety Airmen," said Lt. Col. Michael Parks, 379th AEW Safety chief who is a Columbus, Ohio native and is stationed here. "On a daily basis they provide exceptional combat safety programs and advice for the Grand Slam Wing and coalition partners. Their proactive safety mindset enabled our commanders to realize a 19 percent year-over-year decrease in ground reportable mishaps and a flight mishap incident rate that is only half of Air Combat Command's rate per flight hour. Overall, they ensured the 379th AEW was able to safely and effectively execute the air tasking orders with zero loss of life or aircraft in fiscal year 2013."

Air Force level awards:
FY 13 Air Force Chief of Safety Outstanding Achievement Award for Ground Safety, Category II - 379th AEW/SE
FY 13 Air Force Chief of Safety Special Achievement Award - Master Sgt. Christopher Calhoun

Air Combat Command awards:
FY 13 ACC Wing Chief of Safety of the Year - Lt. Col. Michael Parks
FY 13 ACC Safety Career Professional of the Year - Master Sgt. Mary Circe
FY 13 ACC Safety Special Achievement Award - 379th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron
FY 13 ACC Outstanding Airmanship Award - Maj. William Evans

AFCENT awards:
FY 13 AFCENT Wing Safety Program of the Year - 379th AEW
FY 13 AFCENT Flight Line Safety Outstanding Achievement Award - Capt. Thomas Stuart
FY 13 AFCENT Weapons Safety Outstanding Achievement Award - Master Sgt. Christopher Johnson