RELEASE NUMBER: 130916-01
DATE POSTED: SEPTEMBER 16, 2013
SWCS wins DA safety award
by Staff Sgt. Shelman Spencer
USAJFKSWCS Public Affairs Office
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, Sept. 16, 2013) – The United States Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, the U.S. Army’s Special Operations Center of Excellence, strives to maintain high standards on a daily basis.
Earlier this year the USAJFKSWCS received four unit-level awards from the United States Army Special Operations Command for high safety standards and recognized four units and 54 individuals with USAJFKSWCS Safety Awards for their contributions to readiness through Safety. Of the unit awards, the most significant went to 1st Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne), which received four USASOC awards.
The success of one of the companies reached the level of recognition by the Department of the Army.
Company F, 1st Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne), received The 2012 Director of the Army Safety Composite Risk Management Award on September 9 for significant contributions to Army readiness through the application of composite risk management.
Lt. Gen. Charles T. Cleveland, the USASOC commander, presented the award to Maj. Brian E. Decker, the commander of Company F.
Throughout his years of service, Cleveland learned the importance of keeping safety a routine point of performance in preventing injuries or fatal incidents. While serving as a group commander, the importance of safety was brought home to him when a Soldier sustained a life-altering injury on the range, losing a hand.
“Good units will do the routine things routinely well and safety is a part of the routine that you have to incorporate into the things you routinely do,” said Cleveland. “It’s a direct reflection of the way commanders and leaders at all levels approach the problem.”
Both Soldiers and civilians of Company F protected Army resources and reduced risk by identifying and developing innovative techniques to mitigate or control risk during training.
“This is a testament to the cadre’s professionalism and their competence; they’re the ones at the tip of the spear,” said Decker. “We don’t believe that we have to break someone in order to assess them.”
The commitment to Soldier safety resulted in more than 5,000 Soldiers trained and assessed in some of the Army’s most physically challenging training courses in assessment and selection without serious injury or incident.