Rule #1: Safety Always Published March 23, 2017 By Master Sgt. Caycee Watson 169th Fighter Wing/Public Affairs MCENTIRE JOINT NATIONAL GUARD BASE, S.C. -- April 10-14 is a few weeks out which means it’s time to be prepared, not preparing, for the Environmental Safety Visit at McEntire Joint National Guard Base. Previously known as the Environmental, Safety and Occupational Health Compliance Assessment and Management Program (ESOHCAMP), the ESV’s main focus is to measure how well the safety and environmental programs are managed every day on base. “It’s not safety first anymore, it’s safety always,” said Master Sgt. John Jones, the 169th Fighter Wing occupational safety and health manager. During the week-long inspection, inspectors will visit various shops on base with the intent of asking questions and observing daily operations. Knowledge and implementation about your section’s safety program in daily tasks will be evaluated on every level from commander to Airman. “The best way to find out if someone is trained is to go and watch them. It’s performance-based training and observation and watching someone do their job and seeing them do it safely, demonstrates that they have been trained well,” said Jones. The job safety training guide is a program to ensure Airmen know how to safely and efficiently perform their jobs. The documentation of safety training is just as important as the actual training and execution. “If it’s not documented, then it didn’t happen,” said Jones. “Supervisors need to have their job safety training guides initialed and updated each month.” From a major command perspective, the most important takeaway from the ESV is not the final grade, but to see how the base operates and how to make things better going forward. Safety is an investment in the future of McEntire and input from every level of Swamp Fox, from Airman to commander, will help to maintain a continuous state of improvement for processes and equipment to benefit everyone. “We want to protect our fellow wingman from getting hurt and we want to protect our equipment so we can keep doing our jobs. The inspection is a good way to give us an outside objective look to see how we operate day to day and what we can do to make things better,” said Jones. Anyone who would like input or an evaluation from the base safety office prior to the ESV may contact, 803-647-8218.