Fewer accidents in Illinois National Guard, units awarded

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SPRINGFIELD, IL (03/09/2016)(readMedia)-- Four Illinois Army National Guard units earned the Army Safety Excellence Award during the 20th Annual State Safety and Occupational Health Workshop March 5-6 at the Illinois Military Academy in Springfield, Illinois.

Maj. Jayson Coble, the state safety and occupational health manager, said the awards were important to recognize the concerted effort commanders and additional duty safety officers (ADSOs), who manage the safety programs, have put toward safety in fiscal year 2015 (FY15), which runs from Oct. 1, 2014 to Sept. 30, 2015.

Between 2013 and 2014, the Illinois Army National Guard saw a 10 percent reduction in accidents and, between 2014 and 2015, there was a 50 percent reduction in accidents, as well as a 35 percent reduction during annual training.

Despite these optimistic numbers, accidents in FY16 are on the rise across the force.

"Maintaining a safe work and training environment comes with its challenges because other aspects of planning and executing our training can take priority," Coble said. "But most accidents are preventable if Soldiers just take a few moments to think about safety before acting. If we do that, I know we can turn this trend around."

Chief Warrant Officer 4 John Karmine III, the National Guard Bureau (NGB) Aviation and Ground Safety Officer, was the keynote speaker at the workshop and he attributed the number of preventable accidents to "undisciplined" service members. Karmine referenced NGB statistics that showed 66 of the 95 National Guard fatalities in FY15 were preventable and were a result of service members not doing the "right thing." It has also resulted in $624 million in loss property.

Karmine said Soldiers need to go further than just stating "everyone's a safety officer" and said there has to be a culture of change when it comes to Soldiers' view on safety.

"You need to empower your Soldiers," Karmine said, speaking to the ADSOs attending the workshop. "We need to give our lower enlisted the confidence to step-up and speak out against all unsafe behavior, regardless of rank, but it starts with the leadership to show them what is 'correct'."

Karmine emphasized the fact that being safety conscious does not end when a Soldier is off-duty.

"You are your brother's or sister's keeper, on and off duty," Karmine said. "We must treat everyone under our charge like our children."

The Assistant Adjutant General - Illinois Army National Guard, Brig. Gen. Michael Zerbonia, presided over the awards ceremony. He said leadership, and their ability to lead by example, is imperative to a successful safety program.

"It does not matter how good a training period a unit might have, if they can't do their mission safely or if they lose one Soldier due to a lack of safety, that mission is a failure," Zerbonia said.

Nearly 60 ADSOs attended the two-day workshop that focused on such areas as accident reporting, off-duty motor vehicle safety, radiation safety, maintenance safety, risk management analysis, safety program management and domestic civil response. It was the intent of the workshop to have the ADSOs learn best-practices from each lesson that they can take back to their assigned unit to incorporate into their own unit's safety program.

Awarded units included 2nd Battalion, 123rd Field Artillery Regiment, of Milan; Illinois, 1st Battalion, 178th Infantry Regiment, of Chicago, Illinois; 44th Chemical Battalion, of Macomb, Illinois; and the 2nd Squadron, 106th Cavalry Regiment, of Kewanee, Illinois.

The battalion-level award recognizes units that operated an effective commander's safety program in FY15. Awarded units must have had no recordable accidents that resulted in a more than $200,000 in damage or disability of a service member, must have completed 100 percent of the Risk Management training and must have completed the Army Readiness Assessment Program in the past two years. Each battalion received a green award streamer it, and all subordinate units within the battalion, may display on their guidons for one year.

In addition, 67 units and directorates across Illinois received The Adjutant General Unit Safety Certification Award and 131 received the Army Accident Prevention Award.

Cutline 2: 1st Lt. Patrick McGee (right), of Macomb, Illinois, with the 661st Engineering Company, accepts the Army Safety Excellence Award on behalf of 2nd Battalion, 123rd Field Artillery Regiment from Brig, Gen. Michael Zerbonia of Chatham, Illinois, Assistant Adjutant General - Illinois Army National Guard, during the 20th annual State Safety and Occupational Health Workshop March 5-6 at the Illinois Military Academy in Springfield, Illinois. (U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Robert Adams, Illinois National Guard Public Affairs Office)

Cutline 3: Capt. Benjamin Dutka (right), of Wheaton, Illinois, with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 178th Infantry Battalion, accepts the Army Safety Excellence Award on behalf of the battalion from Brig, Gen. Michael Zerbonia of Chatham, Illinois, Assistant Adjutant General - Illinois Army National Guard, during the 20th annual State Safety and Occupational Health Workshop March 5-6 at the Illinois Military Academy in Springfield, Illinois. (U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Robert Adams, Illinois National Guard Public Affairs Office)

Cutline 4: Maj. Joseph Bright (right), of Macomb, Illinois, with Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 44th Chemical Battalion, accepts the Army Safety Excellence Award on behalf of the battalion from Brig, Gen. Michael Zerbonia of Chatham, Illinois, Assistant Adjutant General - Illinois Army National Guard, during the 20th annual State Safety and Occupational Health Workshop March 5-6 at the Illinois Military Academy in Springfield, Illinois. (U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Robert Adams, Illinois National Guard Public Affairs Office)

Cutline 5: 2nd Lt. Aaron Bryant (right), of Franklin, Illinois, with Detachment 4, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 2nd Battalion, 122nd Field Artillery Regiment, accepts the Army Safety Excellence Award on behalf of the 2nd Squadron, 106th Cavalry Regiment from Brig, Gen. Michael Zerbonia of Chatham, Illinois, Assistant Adjutant General - Illinois Army National Guard, during the 20th annual State Safety and Occupational Health Workshop March 5-6 at the Illinois Military Academy in Springfield, Illinois. (U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Robert Adams, Illinois National Guard Public Affairs Office)

For high resolution photos, please contact the Illinois National Guard Public Affairs Office at

ng.il.ilarng.list.staff-pao@mail.mil

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