As the holiday season approaches, the Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)(IKE) takes time to emphasize the importance of safety while at sea and at home, Nov 10.

It doesn't matter what the event is - ammunition onload, sea and anchor detail, or jets taking off from the flight deck - whatever's going on, the crew of Ike can rest assured Safety department will be involved.

"Safety, as the executive officer (XO) likes to say, is not a program, but how you do business every day," said Cmdr. Flint Brady, Ike's safety officer. "Every evolution we do on the ship is done with safety in mind."

Safety is one of the smallest departments aboard Ike, consisting of only two permanent officer positions. The remainder of Safety is made up of enlisted Sailors who are temporarily assigned to the department. However, not just anyone can be assigned.

"Safety is looking for someone who is very sharp, who brings a good breadth of knowledge," Brady described. "We want someone who can stop a person with seniority and prevent them from doing something dangerous."

Brady said Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Christopher Rath fits that description. Despite the position being intended for a 1st class petty officer, Rath filled the spot and proved he had the mindset to be a valuable member of the team.

"When I joined the Navy, I thought the Safety department was just the people who yelled at you," Rath explained. "Now I understand their goal is to ensure every Sailor is performing maintenance and everyday evolutions safely. We aren't here to be the bad guys; we just want everyone to be safe and able to go home uninjured at the end of the day."

When safety isn't involved in large scale evolutions, their day-to-day operations involve preparing safety equipment such as respirators, training the ship's crew on safety procedures and roving the ship for safety hazards.

Rath says these roves are important because people sometimes forget the actual dangers associated with what they are doing.

"When you're so focused on one task, everything around you can kind of turn into white noise. You don't see the big picture," he said. "That's where we come in. We look at the big picture and make sure everything is being done safely."

Brady knows some Sailors believe the safe way can also be the long way to complete a task, but that is not necessarily true.

"More often than not the quickest way to get something done is by following the rules," Brady said. "Mission effectiveness is achieved by doing things safely."

Safety department reminds IKE Sailors to focus on safety during the holiday season, where the Navy traditionally sees a spike in incidents.

Brady said he hopes that lessons learned on the ship are also being applied at home so everyone can make it through the holiday season safely.

Dwight D. Eisenhower is underway conducting carrier qualifications.


For more news from USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), visit http://www.navy.mil/.