CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, Japan -- Twenty-eight Marines from Marine Wing Support Squadron 172, Marine Wing Support Group 17, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force, were awarded Certificates of Appreciation for safe driving while on Okinawa.
The Marine Corps Traffic Safety Program encourages leaders to reward their Marines for demonstrating safe driving.
The program allows units to create their own goals and rewards regarding safe driving, said Gunnery Sgt. Brandon D. Richardson, MWSS-172 motor transportation chief.
Depending on each individual unit’s daily driving tasks, attainable, achievable goals can be set.
The award system is one of the new initiatives put into place in order to focus Marines on accident prevention.
“Truth be told, you don’t plan on getting into an accident, so accident prevention is not always on the Marines’ minds,” Richardson said.
Once the Marines get their mission, they begin the mission planning necessary to ensure they are able to execute their assigned tasks.
Simple steps the unit introduced to get Marines to think about accident prevention are: the posting of “Accident Free Day” signs throughout the bays; the dispatcher closing the conversation with a friendly reminder to drive safe and constant re-enforcement from the non commissioned officers and staff NCOs not to take unnecessary risks and to drive safe, Richardson added.
“To capitalize on this, the awards are milestones the Marines can shoot for. That is our way of telling them they did a great job, and we appreciate their efforts,” Richardson said.
The MWSS-172 Safe Driver Award program awards individuals and their unit collectively. For every 1,000 miles of individual safe driving, the Marines receive a Certificate of Appreciation, for every 5,000 miles a Meritorious Mast and for every 10,000 miles a Certificate of Commendation.
As a whole, for every 90 days with accident free miles, the unit receives a three-day weekend. The Marines of MWSS-172 enjoyed their first three-day weekend reward recently, for having reached 91 accident free days.
The Marines support the entire 1st MAW and collectively drive over 2,000 miles a week. “That is a lot of miles on a 70-mile long island,” Richardson said.
“You can drive anywhere from Kinser to the Jungle Warfare Training Center which is two hours on winding roads that the trucks barely fit on,” said Lance Cpl. Joseph Labelle, one of the motor transportation operators and a recipient of a 1,000 accident free miles award.
Any type of driving mishap ranging from an accident out in town to a Road Master citation, moving or stationary, will reset a Marine’s safe driving miles back to zero.
“We’re in a country that isn’t ours,” said Lance Cpl. Caitlin R. Smith, one of the motor transportation operators who also received a certificate of appreciation. “Everything about the roads and the rules are different, and we’re in the spotlight. It’s like having other people’s lives in your hands; you always have to be aware of your surroundings.”
“Defensive driving is key, you have to be on the look out for the other guy,” said Lance Cpl. Josh Christian, another awardee. “When lives are at risk you have to use extra caution.”
The Safe Driver Program was implemented for MWSS-172 April 1, and the safe miles were back dated to January 2009. MWSS-172 leaders are confident implementing this new reward system will continue to keep the unit accident free.