HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – The Air Force has named a member of the Occupational Safety Office here as the top Safety Civilian Professional for 2021.
Shaun Bassett, 66th Air Base Group Occupational Safety and Health manager, received the honor for outstanding contributions to the installation and Air Force safety throughout 2021.
“I was ecstatic to learn I had earned the title,” said Bassett. “It feels really good to be recognized for all the work we’ve done this year, and I couldn’t have done it without my team backing me up.”
In the last year, Bassett managed a $5 billon occupational safety program for over 10,000 Guard, Reserve, and Department of Defense civilian personnel across a seven-state region, according to the award citation.
He improved existing training programs, and secured funding for 49 additional training courses on the base, all in an effort to preserve combat capabilities and resources, and to protect and educate members of the Hanscom community.
“The programs we have here at Hanscom are some of the best I’ve seen in the Air Force,” said Chris Herrmann, Hanscom’s Occupational Safety director. “When it comes to preserving capabilities and protecting lives, Shaun’s programs have gone above and beyond making it easy to do that.”
Bassett said the accomplishment he is most proud of is the Safety team’s emphasis on outreach and education.
“We’ve really tried to focus on how we communicate with senior leaders and the community to be proactive about safety,” he said. “We’ve been seeing more and more people be proactive in seeking our assistance, and that’s what we love to see.”
The 66 ABG Safety Office previously won the Air Force Materiel Command and Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Chief of Safety Outstanding Achievement for Occupational Safety Awards for their safety management support of 226 individual work areas.