VAW-121 Hosts Safety Fair
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS061013-12
Release Date: 10/13/2006 3:35:00 PM
By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Davis J. Anderson, Fleet Public Affairs Center Atlantic
NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 121 hosted a safety fair for Airborne Command Control and Logistics Wing (ACCLOGWING) Oct. 12 at Naval Station Norfolk as part of their required quarterly safety stand down.
VAW-121, seeking to improve upon past safety stand downs, came up with the idea for a safety fair.
“We can reach about 90 people at a time in small bites that are easier to digest than a long hour or hour-and-a-half brief,” said Lt. Cmdr. Paul Lanzilotta, safety officer for VAW-121. “The idea is to get our community together and take some time off in a safety stand down type of setting.”
Nearly 500 people attended the safety fair.
“Hopefully, [today] I’ll see something I haven’t seen before,” said Aviation Structural Mechanic Airman Apprentice Joseph Delacruz, VAW-121.
During the upcoming holiday season, many Sailors will be traveling home to visit family and friends. Knowing this, said Delacruz, the day was a good way for him to prepare.
“When you’re going home and you’re away from the Navy, you don’t think about stuff like risk management,” said Delacruz. “It [the safety fair] is a good reminder.”
With the high operational tempo of the Navy, it can be easy to forget about safety in an effort to get the job done, but everyone involved agrees, the people in the Navy and their safety come first.
“Whether we break an airplane or not, ultimately we can get a part to fix that, but loss of morale is tremendous when you have an accident that actually takes out a family member,” said Cmdr. Russell McLachlan, commanding officer of VAW-121. “It takes away talent and skill that you need to get those airplanes airborne. I think it is really important to keep the people, not just the parts.”
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