BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. –
The 9th Reconnaissance Wing and 940th Wing Safety Offices are joint recipients of the 8th Air Force September Unit Safety Award of Distinction.
This is the first-ever Total Force Integration effort to be selected for the monthly award, which recognizes superior performance in preventing mishaps in all areas of safety.
"(These) two wings set the example of how to support one another," said Col. David Cordon, 8th AF chief of safety.
The award nomination cited the wings' joint collaboration with a team of experts in the development of cutting-edge operational resource management strategies for eliminating the trend of U-2 pilot decompression sickness-related mishaps. The award write-up touted nearly l00 man-days of office-to-office support this fiscal year, which showed the full integration of the two safety offices.
"We've really taken the function of safety to the installation level," commented Lt. Col. Lewis Harding, 940th WG safety officer, "This award and inspection accolades recognize our TFI efforts."
The two safety offices have virtually the same requirements, just on a different scale, stated Lt. Col. Brian Dickinson, 9th RW chief of safety.
"It makes sense to have one robust program, sharing expertise and resources and supporting each other," said Colonel Dickinson. "We have a collective pride in ownership - we all share this installation."
940th WG commander, Col. Jeffrey Mineo challenged the 940th Safety Office to integrate fully with the 9th RW.
"You can't just bust in to a fully functional host unit and announce, 'I'm here to integrate our functions in the name of TFI,'" Lt. Col. Harding said. "The host wing and Colonel Dickinson were willing to allow me the chance to integrate with their mission and to serve the entire base populace."
Both colonels Harding and Dickinson offer this advice for others striving toward total force integration: First, meet your counterparts. Spend time learning their processes. Then, volunteer to help out.
"TFI enhances the mission capability of both wings. Ultimately, it's about the greater mission of Beale Air Force Base," said Colonel Harding. "We wear different patches, but our goal is the same. At the end of the day, we want to provide seamless safety oversight for commanders, guaranteeing combat capability."