51st FW Safety Office promotes readiness, prevents mishaps

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Chase Verzaal
  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

The work day of a U.S. Air Force Airman assigned to the 51st Fighter Wing Safety Office may seem ordinary on the surface, but in reality, impacts every person at Osan Air Base.

The 51st FW safety office is frequently recognized for their drive to keep the Airmen at Osan AB safe and equipped to properly carry out their roles within the “Fight Tonight” mission.

The safety office consists of three sections, including weapons, flight, and occupational safety.

Weapons safety consists of people who are in the weapons career field, and are responsible for ensuring that the ammunition and explosives are safe to handle and are properly handled using specific Air Force procedures.

Flight safety focuses on the aircraft, and oversees the safe environment and procedures for preparing, using, and maintaining the aircraft.

Occupational safety deals with facilities, people and most of the equipment on base, ensuring that the Airmen on base are able to work in accordance with Air Force and OSHA standards.

After shadowing a facility inspection and conducting a short interview with U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Justin Manning, 51st FW Safety Office noncommissioned officer in charge of occupational safety, it becomes evident how the 12-person team earned the Pacific Air Forces Chief of Safety Outstanding Achievement Award Category II for all of their contributions to the base.

Adhering to the standards set by OSHA and utilizing mishap prevention techniques reduces the likelihood of losing man hours in the workplace due to accidents. The safety mission according to the Air Force Safety Center is to increase combat power through risk management, training and analysis.

“The safety office carries out a number of responsibilities to ensure that people at Osan remain safe and able to do their jobs,” said Manning. “Our responsibilities include industrial program management, being safety advisors for the commanders on base, conducting facility inspections for every building on base and conducting mishap investigations.”

The safety office ensures that Airmen and their families at Osan AB are cared for and safe enough to continue contributing to the “Fight Tonight” mission, through careful inspections and mishap investigations completed by the weapons, flight, and occupational safety sections of the office.

“Occupational safety deals with the facilities, the people and most of the equipment,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Joshua Scholl, 51st Fighter Wing Safety Office occupational safety manager. “We wear a lot of different hats to keep dangerous situations out of the workplace.”

Preventing mishaps is the main mission for occupational safety Airmen like Manning, because taking care of the personnel, facilities and equipment on base allows the mission to continue within OSHA standards.

Manning works in the occupational safety section of the office, which is a subsection that focuses on workplace safety. They carry out many responsibilities that affect every organization at Osan, reducing the risk for mishaps to occur.

“We comply with OSHA standards and set out to make every workspace enjoyable,” said Manning. “We directly impact the “Fight Tonight” mission by preventing mishaps, because we are reducing the risk for Airmen to become injured, unhappy or unable to do their job.”