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thedrifter
03-16-07, 07:14 PM
SECNAV says safety is critically important

Friday, March 16, 2007

By April Phillips - Naval Safety Center Public Affairs

In his role as Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Donald C. Winter knows that he bears ultimate responsibility for the hundreds of thousands of Sailors and Marines who serve this country every day on ships and bases across the globe. Fully engaged in winning the war against terror, he is aware of the crucial importance of the mission. However, Winter said a key element of the mission that often gets overlooked is safety, and he's made it a priority during his tenure as SECNAV.

"I think safety is critically important in everything we do. The mission is important and safety has to go right along. The men and women of our Navy are the heart of the Navy and if we cannot take care of them, then we are not doing what is expected of us."

Winter said he received a real education about the hazards that go along with military service when he was a government contractor. In his opinion, the Department of the Navy does a much better job of caring for its own than civilian organizations typically do.

"Contractor responsibility really ends when the employee leaves the contractor's facility. In the Navy we have much broader responsibility. It's part of what I think is appropriate and necessary because being able to preserve our Navy family at large is critical to us being able to continue in the important missions we're engaged in," Winter said.

Statistically, Sailors and Marines are safer while actually performing their missions than they are during their off-duty time. Winter said he wants to instill what he calls a "culture of safety" that he believes will reduce the number of off-duty mishaps. He said leadership must be involved.

"I think it starts with the management chain. The commands must understand that we're going to hold them accountable for the safety of the Sailors and Marines that are under their responsibility. And that's true whether it occurs during duty hours or after duty hours, on base or off base. It is part of what we need to do to instill a safety culture within the Navy and Marine Corps.

Although a large percentage of Navy and Marine Corps fatalities occur behind the wheel of a personal motor vehicle, the PMV fatality rates are actually well below that of civilian counterparts aged 18 to 34 years. This may be due to the fact that these service members often spend a portion of the year deployed. However, Sailors and Marines seem to do a better job of using operational risk management behind the wheel than civilians. Nonetheless, Winter said he won't be satisfied until every single avoidable mishap has been prevented.

"We may be better than national averages at large, but I have to tell you that every time I look at the safety incident reports, I see fatalities and serious injuries that result when Sailors and Marines are speeding and losing control of their vehicles, driving without seatbelts, driving under the influence.

These are avoidable, preventable accidents and until we eliminate all of them, I will not be satisfied that we've done all that is incumbent upon us to do," he said emphatically.

With so much importance placed on safety, the Secretary of the Navy said it's important to properly fund proven initiatives. However, he said money isn't everything.

"I think it's more of an issue of ensuring that the priority is safety and the core aspects of safety are fully understood throughout the fleet. I think that is what we really need to emphasize."

Winter said this emphasis has to begin early and it's not limited to personal behavior. He said safety must be built into the process of acquiring new aircraft, vehicles, and other equipment for the fleet. He identified two aspects of safety in the acquisition process that must be closely scrutinized - manufacturing and testing. One area that's currently receiving a lot of attention deals with the vehicles Sailors and Marines are using in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Such aspects as proclivity of rollover, how to be able to survive rollover, and things of that nature are becoming more and more integrated into the development process," Winter said.

Ultimately, the Secretary said leadership is the most important aspect of ensuring mission readiness is not negatively affected by unsafe behaviors and equipment.

"It (leadership) is absolutely essential. We have to demonstrate consistency in terms of how we hold people accountable. That's not only the individuals who may be directly engaged in unsafe acts but also their supervision and the chain of command above them to ensure the chain is appropriately motivating the proper behaviors we want to see. If that's the way they look at their activities, then I believe we will significantly enhance the overall safety of these activities."

Ellie