Base welcomes PACAF HQ assessment team

  • Published
  • By Story courtesy of 3rd Civil Engineer Squadron
  • 3rd CES
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON --  More than 20 assessors from Pacific Air Forces Headquarters will comb the base to ensure compliance with all environmental, safety and occupational health policies, regulations and laws, beginning July 12.

It's all part of the external HQ PACAF Environmental, Safety, and Occupational Health Compliance Assessment Management Program, scheduled July 12-16 on Elmendorf.

ESOHCAMP is a management tool to ensure Elmendorf complies with federal, state and Department of Defense rules and regulations. It assists base leadership in managing their environmental, safety and occupational health programs more effectively by helping to identify and correct deficiencies before they result in accidents or violations.

"We all have a responsibility to the nation to be good stewards of the environment and to ensure our operations remain compliant with environmental laws," said Lt. Col. Dean Hartman, 3rd Civil Engineer Squadron commander. "One of the ways we validate our performance, and seek areas of improvement for the future, is through the ESOHCAMP."

A group of military and civilian environmental experts assembled from units across the Air Force make up the assessment team and will visit shops all over Elmendorf.

"Assessors will be checking units for both good and bad practices in safety and occupational health practices, as well as the environmental protocols such as hazardous waste and material handling," said Mr. Jon Scudder, 3rd CES ESOHCAMP team coordinator.

Mr. Scudder said the easiest way to meet ESOHCAMP environmental requirements and ensure program success is to refer to 3rd Wing Operations Plan 19-3, Environmental Management Plan.

"All the requirements for managing these programs are outlined in the checklists in Appendix B of the plan," Mr. Scudder said. "Also, all squadrons and tenant units should have a unit environmental coordinator. They are available to answer questions and help correct any problems."

If a shop receives a negative finding during the assessment, the unit commander will be required to submit a management action plan. This is a detailed description of the work that will be done to fix the problem and close the finding.

"This assessment is designed to provide constructive feedback to work centers so deficiencies can be corrected as soon as possible," Mr. Scudder added.

Teams will also look for best management practices in these areas. "All of these findings will fit together and give us an overall measure of how we are doing as an installation," said Mr. Scudder.

Wing leadership will then use the data to look at the big picture, try to identify trends and prevent negative practices across the installation.

"Our environmental program is one of the best in the Air Force," Colonel Hartman said. "We are all environmental warriors whose goal is to keep all of us safer and healthier."

For more information about ESOHCAMP, call Mr. Scudder at 552-4157.