39 ABW aces ESOHCAMP

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Ann Stefanek
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  The Department of Defense ESOHCAMP team sent to evaluate the 39th Air Base Wing's environmental and occupational safety and health programs completed its evaluation in Izmir at the 425th Air Base Group Mar. 7. The team completed its inspection of Incirlik's facilities and programs Feb. 29. 

"The 39th Air Base Wing's environmental programs are in very good condition and continue to improve," said Lt. Col. Terry Hayes, ESOHCAMP team leader, during the outbrief. "There was only about one-third the number of environmental findings identified during this external assessment compared to the last external assessment in 2005." 

The wing has been working diligently on closing out findings from the last external and internal inspections. 

"Our Environmental Management Flight did great on the ESOHCAMP inspection and was recognized with a Superior Performance Award for having such a strong program, said Mr. Duane Kruse, Environmental Management Flight chief. "I attribute our success to two things: first, a team of dedicated professionals who truly believe in improving the environment and secondly, we spent the last three years implementing the Environmental Management System. We are now seeing the synergistic effects of that effort." 

The 425 ABG also did very well on the inspection. 

"The 425 ABG environmental team is improving and advancing its program,," according to Mr. Ray Willis, Izmir ESOHCAMP team leader. "The assessment team attributed this progress to a high quality internal assessment conducted in 2007." 

The report also commended the Environmental Safety and Occupational Health Council and the Environmental Flight for effectively implementing a strong environmental program. It was clear base personnel have a high environmental awareness and understanding of environmental compliance requirements in Turkey. 

"At both locations, we follow the guidelines of the Final Governing Standards for the Republic of Turkey, which are loosely based on the Environmental Protection Agency standards we use in the United States," explained Mr. Kruse. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Programs were also evaluated during the inspection. 

"The Occupational Health Program at Incirlik Air Base was rated solid. The assessment team found no imminent Occupational Health hazards in the 19 workplaces assessed," said Colonel Hayes. 

According to the report, it was evident throughout the assessment that the 39 ABW safety staff had gone through extensive efforts in managing the permit-required confined spaces and lockout/tagout programs. 

"We're very proud of our confined space program," said Master Sgt. Darnell Edmonds, Acting Chief, 39 ABW Safety Office. "Our program was praised for going above and beyond compliance with regulatory requirements." 

The safety team was also cited for building sound relationships with the base confined space program team, functional managers and commanders. 

"The Environmental and Occupational Safety and Health programs of both 39 ABW locations did extremely well, improving their performances from the last inspection," said Mr. Kruse. "We will continue to monitor our programs, enter findings into the EMS, and work toward continuous improvement."