Marine Corps Air Station Yuma safety program pays off

  Marine Corps Air Station Yuma ended its 101 Critical Days of Summer safety campaign Sept. 1 fatality free for the third year in a row, adding to the Corps' first Labor Day weekend in five years with no off-duty fatalities.

  The campaign, focuses on helping Marines and sailors prevent and manage the risks that can cause off-duty mishaps and fatalities throughout the summer months, specifically Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend due to their high fatality rates.

  The biggest factors in Yuma staying fatality free this summer were the station's aggressive safety campaign, hitting on the importance of safety early in the year, and leaders taking responsibilities for its Marines, said Ross Chapa, station safety specialist.

  The Extreme Health and Safety Fair and mock crash events held in May showed Marines the importance of proper safety practices, specifically focusing on off-duty recreation safety like wearing proper protective equipment, said Chapa.

  Marines also received several briefs throughout the year about responsible alcohol use, proper motorcycle driving and maintenance, and simply looking out for each other.

  The Marines here, especially the noncommissioned officers (NCOs), took hold of the commandant's new empowerment program and used it to educate and prepare their Marines to make good safety decisions outside of the workplace, said Gunnery Sgt. David Kurz, station ground safety manager.

  Kurz was referring to a White Letter published April 21, in which Gen. James Conway called on NCOs to take charge of the safety of their Marines by actively exercising full authority and accountability over their subordinates to halt the record-breaking number of Marines who have died in private motor vehicle crashes, specifically those involving motorcycles, this year.

  NCOs were even given authority to deny leave and liberty privileges for Marines who are deemed to be a safety risk.

  Marines can receive safety briefs all day long, but it is the Marine with them on liberty who speaks up who has the biggest impact on whether they return home safe or not, said Phil Bender, station traffic and off-duty safety program manager.

  Although the station did not lose any lives this year, the Marine Corps, as a whole, lost 20 Marines during this year's safety campaign, according to the Naval Safety Center. However, it was the lowest number of summer holiday fatalities throughout the Corps since 2005.

  Despite a fatality-free summer for Yuma, the number of Marines reported injured while off-duty did increase slightly, from one in 2007 to two in 2008, said Chapa.

  The key to keeping up this kind of success is to continue empowering the NCOs to take responsibility for their Marines and lead from the front with safety, said Chapa.

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Lance Cpl. M. Daniel Sanchez writes for The Desert Warrior, the newspaper of Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, from which this story is reprinted.