82d Training Wing Safety Office Takes Winning to a New Level

  • Published
  • By Joshua Wilson
  • 82d Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, TEXAS --  Most organizations are happy to receive one award, but one is just not enough for the Sheppard Air Force Base Safety Office.

AETC just awarded the 82nd Training Wing Safety Office the To Promote Safety (TOPS) award, the AETC Ground Safety Excellence award, and the AETC Ground Safety Manager of the Year award.

The TOPS award is presented to organizations that have the most effective mishap prevention program. The Sheppard Safety Office had to meet specific criteria in order to achieve this prestigious award.

Some of the requirements include the ability to demonstrate combined effectiveness of the overall safety program. The Safety Office has worked very closely with squadron representatives across the base to promote teamwork and produce very high safety standards.

"When we win an office level award, such as the TOPS Trophy, it represents the successful interaction with all the units across the base," said James Zillweger, 82nd Training Wing Chief of Safety. "We would not be able to achieve these high standards without the great repor our office has with everyone across the base."

The Safety Office has exceeded standards set by AETC on many different levels, to include an outstanding Weapons Safety Program, which has led to zero weapons mishaps in the last eight years. The Safety Office was marked as a "top tier" Safety Office in AETC, as well as received an outstanding on the most recent Unit Compliance Inspection, or UCI.

In fact, the Sheppard Safety Office has received an Outstanding on every UCI going back to 2003.

"Our programs wouldn't be as good as they are without the buy-in from all the organizations and units across Sheppard," Zillweger said.

The Safety Office has also been awarded the AETC Ground Safety Excellence Trophy, which is awarded to the wing that has the most effective ground safety program in AETC. They also received this award in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010 and now in 2012.

As well as having an exceptional semi-annual trend analysis program that exceeds requirements and was labeled as the "best seen" by the AETC functional manager, the Safety Office has created a comprehensive mishap audit system which has translated into a 100 percent accountability of on or off-duty injuries.

"It gives me comfort knowing that everyone in this office is eager to contribute, and without their fair share of support, we wouldn't get the job done," Zillweger said.

The Safety Office has also successfully taken on the task of conducting risk assessment evaluations for all of the courses taught on Sheppard, which is 55 percent of the courses taught in AETC.

This year alone, over 840 hours have been spent on conducting thorough Risk Management appraisals for 141 of Sheppard's courses.

"We graduate 70-80,000 students a year, and to keep the mishaps as low as they are wouldn't happen without everyone doing their part," Zillweger said.

The safety office initiated a very impactful Critical Days of Summer campaign that led to zero motorcycles fatalities over the summer, which far exceeds the Air Force trend.

The safety office also led the way with an outstanding DUI prevention program that focused on education, awareness and incentives. This program resulted in an astounding 60 percent decline in DUI's from the program's inception in 2007.

If the TOPS trophy and Ground Safety trophy weren't enough, the Safety Office's Ground Safety Manager, Mr. Mark Schaffer, won the AETC Ground Safety Manager of the Year Award as well. This is not the first time Schaffer has received the Manager award.

He won this award in 2008 as well as 2010, and now again in 2012. However, when asked about this individual award, Schaffer was very humble and passed the credit off to his office.

"It's nice to be recognized individually, but at the same time, any accolades need to go to the team that makes everything come together," Schaffer said. "It represents a lot of diligence on the part of the folks that work in this office and what they do."

Schaffer's attention to detail and outstanding leadership was a major contributing factor to the UCI Outstanding rating. Schaffer continually mentors junior enlisted personnel and strives to make them better journeymen.

"If we didn't have that interaction at the unit level, and their buy-in, it just wouldn't work," said Schaffer.

Schaffer and Zillweger went on to say that the safety staff are the hardest working group of individuals either one of them have ever had the privilege of working with.

"We have been challenged with losing staff members just like a lot of other offices on base, but my staff are the hardest working bunch of people I have ever seen," Zillweger said. "We have the awards and recognition because of what they do every day. Without them, none of this would be possible.