At MOTSU safety is job one.

With more than 50 years of safe practices under its belt, the Military Ocean Terminal, Sunny Point, in Southport, N.C., has earned its reputation as the safest and most efficient ammunition terminal within the Department of Defense.

Since it opened in November 1955, the MOTSU staff has proudly supported the mission of planning, coordinating and executing the safe movement of munitions, explosives and other hazardous cargo in support of combatant commanders around the world.

Maintaining a world-class safety record when it comes to delivering munitions safely and securely is a dedicated effort that MOTSU commander Col. Michael Babul said takes both time and commitment, with persistence to details. But Babul said when it comes to keeping people safe while sustaining the terminal and completing its mission, the MOTSU group steps up to the plate.

Safety First

"We've had no major Army incidents since its beginning in 1955," said Harold Garner, Safety Office manager at MOTSU since March 2004. "The main thing we concentrate on is supporting the commander by managing his safety program, which we do in a variety of ways."

Garner explained that the program includes everything from safe practices training of employees to inspecting industrial operations to ensure regulations for operations are being followed completely. But the man charged with the overall safety program admits that this is no easy task.

"It's complex. Any mistake here is much more critical because the severity of the hazard can be so much greater," Garner said. "At MOTSU, we have to be more diligent and safety conscious to ensure ammunition operations are conducted in accordance with explosive safety regulations."

With more than 16,000 acres and approximately five miles of waterfront under its purview, the MOTSU command team works daily to empower its employees at every level to get involved in the process of maintaining the facility's safety record.

Babul and Deputy to the Commander Don Parker push their team to maintain that outstanding safety record, always recognizing that any incident could affect not only the installation but could impact surrounding communities as well.

"Safety has to be paramount to all we do," said Babul, listing security, infrastructure, technology and community relations as pieces to the puzzle that work hand in hand. "And anything we can do to maintain and improve our standards we are going to do."

The command maintains a Hazard Abatement Log, or HAZLOG, that outlines every known safety hazard on the terminal. It is organized and prioritized by Risk Assessment Code, or RAC, and is reviewed quarterly. Some hazards are corrected through process changes or training. Others may require funding resources that drive subsequent budget submissions. In all cases, progress in mitigating the hazard is measured during each review.

Babul explained they constantly rely on the outstanding abilities of their people and the experience they bring to the table daily. Babul said that the Safety Office is where it all begins but noted it takes a team of dedicated professionals from all MOTSU functional operational and installation areas to make it work. The various staff elements must work together daily to synchronize the safe movement and trans-shipment of this sensitive cargo through the terminal.

"People are the key to safety success," stressed Lee Ann Donache, MOTSU safety and occupational health specialist since August 1999. She said that the command's encouragement to work as a team, especially when it comes to the safety aspects of the mission, helps advance their program's success by leaps and bounds.

"We have a lot of eyes and ears out there. We're a close-knit family and we look out for each other," Donache said.

Training employees to hold additional duties as members of the Safety Officer Program has proven to be an added bonus when it comes to organization communication and staying on top of all safety challenges. Each functional staff element has an appointed Additional Duty Staff Officer, or ADSO. This program puts additional safety representatives on the ground throughout the organization, thus making MOTSU management more aware of safety hazards on the job and empowers trained individuals to deal with them immediately.

But both Garner and Donache agree that annual and repetitive Waining must be a high priority if they want to continue the organization's safety record. In fact, on any given week mining is going on in the safety arena with expert instruction from a variety of staffers. Further, MOTSU ensures that safety is inculcated throughout its contractor staff, as well. Marine Terminals Corporation-East, MOTSU's stevedoring contractor, schedules stand-down days and mandatory safety training for the unionized longshoremen.

"Considering this is the largest port in the world handling munitions, we believe that people who are actually handling munitions need to know how to handle it properly in order to minimize risk of accident," said Belinda Beltran, the Ammunition Surveillance director who said she is always ready to jump in and teach to ensure Army regulatory compliance and ultimately safety in operations.

Infrastructure and Technology

Beltran and her ammunition surveillance staff are not only responsible for overseeing explosive safety training and the management of munitions according to regulations. She and her 15-person office are also dedicated to ensuring that facility infrastructure and technology always supports the safe handling and movement of explosive cargo. This includes providing guidance on proposed building projects, installation and maintenance of lightning protections systems, procurement of appropriate container handling and fire fighting equipment, and installation of a terminal-wide mass notification system.

"Safety is very important to us," Beltran said, explaining that even the introduction of new technologies and addressing infrastructure requirements does not fully eliminate all of the hazards associated with handling ammunition. The constant operational tempo and the many moving parts at the terminal demand constant surveillance. "When lives are at stake, we must minimize risk of any and all possible catastrophic incidences."

And maintaining MOTSU in-house safety on a daily basis is everyone's business, the command team stressed. Whether it's fire and emergency services, force protection, vehicle operation and maintenance, environmental programs, public works or land management, they said it all counts when it comes down to safe operations.

"Constantly striving for new and improved ways of doing business and doing it safely is the name of the game," Babul said, adding he and Parker believe that advancements in technology are critical to the overall mission MOTSU performs 24-hours a day, seven days a week. "And our MOTSU team is committed to staying on the cutting edge to ensure another 50 years of safety at the Sunny Point military ocean terminal."

by Jennifer Sanders

SDDC Headquarters, Fort Eustis