USA: Naval Air Station Receives Award for Installation Exellence

Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville, Fla., received the Commander in Chief’s Annual Award for Installation Excellence during a ceremony at the Pentagon May 2.

The award recognizes the top installations from all the service branches. NAS Jacksonville earned the award by excelling in areas like safety, quality of life, and environmental stewardship.

“Our customer is the warfighter, and these areas are important because that is what is important to the warfighter,” said Capt. Robert Sanders, NAS Jacksonville’s commanding officer.

Safety played a big part in getting Jacksonville recognized this year. Earlier in the year, the crew at NAS Jacksonville earned the 2011 Navy Safety Excellence Award by handling over 77,000 flight operations without any mishaps,

“In anything we do, safety is number one, and we strive hard in our safety program,” said Sanders. “We think that being proactive in safety is going to make us excel even more. You cannot have readiness without safety.”

Through its energy conservation and pollution prevention programs the installation also earned the 2011 Secretary of the Navy Energy and Water Management Award and the United Nations Earth Society’s Earth Trustee Award.

“We have done a number of different things for energy, and it’s basically a multi-pronged approach,” said Sanders. “First, it’s awareness, and everyone at NAS Jax has the attitude to save energy. Second, you have to look at alternative forms of energy. For example, we have a number of electric vehicles, and we have probably in the neighborhood of 5,000 solar panels at NAS Jax.”

Unit morale and quality of life are some of the criteria the Commander in Chief’s award looks at. In those areas, NAS Jacksonville received praise for its top-rated child development center and its robust Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) program.

“We have an outstanding MWR program,” said Sanders. “Our customer, once again, is the warfighter – the Sailors and their families who live and work on NAS Jax – and it’s vital that we have a vibrant MWR program.”

The Commander in Chief’s Annual Award for Installation Excellence started in 1985 under President Ronald Reagan. Each service branch conducts its own competition, and the Commander in Chief’s award recognizes the top installation from each service.

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Naval Today Staff , May 04, 2012; Image: navy