727th AMS Airman revamps safety program, wins quarterly award

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Dillon Johnston
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  An NCO from the 727th Air Mobility Squadron recently won the Ground Safety NCO of the Quarter award for the second quarter for his achievements as head of the safety program in his squadron.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Mathew Donathan, 727th AMS safety NCO in charge, took over the program just over a year ago, and has already made major improvements to it.

This was not an easily undertaken task; however, the safety program he walked into was aging and in need of improvement.

"It wasn't doing so well before, and I had to redo it all to bring it up to standards," Donathan said. "I spent 12-hour days, six days a week working on this - running checklists and ripping them apart."

Donathan streamlined the safety program by removing redundant processes and disbanding the former safety additional duty which required a member from each section in the squadron to be a safety representative. This freed up additional man hours, which in turn increased productivity.

Using the new, standardized safety program, Donathan identified previously overlooked items, as well as developed a more safety-conscious attitude in his workplace.
"When I walk around, people know that I'm watching, and people know right from wrong," he said.

This is Donathan's second award for excellence in the safety field, showing his commitment and dedication to keeping the mission going by reducing mishaps. He says he couldn't do it alone.

"Everybody plays a part in safety, whether you're on the ground or in the office," Donathan said.

One of the people lending a helping hand to the safety program is Donathan's supervisor, Kym Stevenson. As the flight chief for the 727th AMS combat readiness and resources shop, Stevenson directly oversaw the change in the safety program as Donathan improved it.

"(Donathan) has looked at ways, if we are not in compliance (with safety regulations), to actually correct the problem," Stevenson said. "It's easy enough to point out problems. It's harder to actually do the footwork to establish what we need to do to be in compliance.

"We haven't had that before with our ground safety program," Stevenson added.

Donathan's motivation and drive to keep the squadron safe has had an infectious affect, spreading to others, thus making his job easier.

"I see individuals realizing, 'This is a safety program for us, to keep us safe, and we need to play our part in that'," Stevenson said.

With the program now firmly in place, others are taking personal responsibility for their own safety, their resources and those around them, helping the mission reach completion with as few mishaps as possible.