In a recently released message by the Naval Safety Center, Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School (NAVSCIATTS) was selected as a winner of the 2015 Chief of Naval Operations Expeditionary Safety Awards and is now in competition for a Secretary of the Navy Safety Excellence Award.

The CNO Expeditionary Safety Awards are presented annually on a fiscal year basis to expeditionary activities and winners are recognized for their exceptional professionalism, commitment to excellence, solid leadership and teamwork, and an in-depth risk management culture which resulted in safe and effective operations.

NAVSCIATTS' leadership established a culture to stress that people are its most valuable resource and their safety is paramount. All levels of NAVSCIATTS' chain-of-command, to include its international students, are trained to incorporate Operational Risk Management (ORM) as an integral part of daily operations, training, planning and the decision-making process. Creating a mishap-free climate where all personnel feel safe to perform their duties was critical to NAVSCIATTS' mission and vision for maintaining a productive and successful command.

Since NAVSCIATTS trains international partners from around the globe, there are diverse cultural and language barriers the staff and students have successfully overcome to integrate safety as a top priority. Also, a few of NAVSCIATTS' courses incorporate high-risk training evolutions, but it's apparent NAVSCIATTS consistently does its absolute utmost to protect its most precious asset - its staff and students. To date, NAVSCIATTS has safely trained more than 11,000 students from about 107 partner nations.

"The recognition is a tremendous honor, and the result of an incredible team effort by our staff and international students," said Cmdr. Clay Pendergrass, commanding officer of NAVSCIATTS. "Everyone is empowered to make safety a top priority and I'm proud they take this responsibility very seriously."

As the training tempo increased at NAVSCIATTS, the entire team continued to exceed risk mitigation challenges. Support to improve operational readiness with conservative resources was evident by the scope of classes successfully supported within requested emergent schedules, and control measures to reduce risks were proven to be effective.

"NAVSCIATTS' training effectiveness is vital, but none of our training can be effective if not conducted in a safe manner," said Mr. Jesus Flies, NAVSCIATTS' high risk training safety officer. "A great deal of what we do can be inherently dangerous and it is critical that good safety and risk management habits be adhered to and practiced by all hands."

NAVSCIATTS is a Department of the Navy schoolhouse operating under the United States Special Operations Command. NAVSCIATTS trains and educates Partner Nation Security Forces (PNSF) on a wide range of topics including small craft strategy, operations, maintenance, communications, weapons and instructor development.

NAVSCIATTS currently offers 20 courses with an average of nearly 1,000 personnel graduating from in-resident and mobile training events annually. Courses are offered in English and Spanish or in other languages through the use of translators.

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