USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) was awarded the Chief of Naval Operations Afloat Safety Award for Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic, March 9.

The CNO Safety Award Afloat encompasses the ship's safety programs, statistics, proactive approaches the ship is taking, and what makes the ship unique compared to other commands' safety programs.

Lt. Mason Baziw, the ship's industrial hygiene officer, attributes the win to the ship's culture of safety.

"I believe we won because of our safety culture on board," said Baziw. "We don't sit back and wait to react to mishaps or deficiencies. We take a proactive approach. Our Safety Department is out there looking for discrepancies and educating Sailors, and the entire command from the top down has bought into the culture of safety as a whole. That is really why we won. That's the most important aspect."

The award recognizes outstanding contributions to fleet readiness, increased morale, efficiency and the economical use of resources through safety with the recognition being bestowed to commands that have distinguished themselves in their compliance and maintaining of the safety standards.

"Having won this award, we should take pride in what we've done," said Baziw. "Winning an award at such a high level, and being in competition for the Secretary of the Navy Safety Award, is great. However, we should also look for continuous improvement in all of our departments on board and not become complacent, especially as we ramp-up our operational tempo and get out of the yards."

Baziw pointed out the award spoke volumes to the success of the command as a whole, vice just Safety Department.

"The fact that we won it in the shipyard with a limited amount of time at sea is a big testament to our Sailors and the entire chain of command because it's everybody's responsibility," said Baziw. "Being in the shipyard is a different environment. It's industrial, and here there is potential for an increase in mishaps, but we've held steady and actually decreased the number of mishaps over time. It's truly a testament to the culture that we've strengthened."

"Hopefully," Baziw said, "we'll win a few more awards, but what's most important is that we continue sending Sailors home safe at night."

George H.W. Bush is currently undergoing maintenance during a planned incremental availability period at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia.

For more news from USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), visit www.navy.mil/local/cvn77/.