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Coast Guard Aviation Association

2022 CGAA Awards

Captain Marion “Gus” Shrode Flight Safety Award

Sector Columbia River/Air Station Astoria Safety Department
Flight Safety Officer (FSO) LCDR Jane Peña
Sector Safety Manager (SSM)/Ground Safety Officer (GSO) LT Amanda Thrasher

Nomination Summary

The 2022 Captain Marion Gus Shrode Aviation Safety Award recipient is Sector Columbia River/Air Station Astoria. As host to the Advanced Helicopter Rescue School (AHRS), which provides challenging and high-risk joint and international training, and home to a diverse and complex aviation mission and area of responsibility, Sector Columbia River’s Safety Department has built and maintained an exceptional Safety Management System (SMS). Mindful of the unique challenges associated with combined Sector and Air Station operations, the Safety Department spearheaded training, education, and mishap drills to prepare unit personnel to systematically anticipate, identify, and mitigate hazards. The Safety Department insightfully developed an AHRS specific addendum to the unit’s mishap response plan, and integrated temporary AHRS instructors and Sector permanent mishap board personnel into unit mishap drills. These initiatives proved instrumental in excellent mishap reporting and response, notably during an AHRS aircraft emergency beach landing. The Safety Department was particularly outstanding at safety promotion, by developing a lessons learned library, creating a professional literature lending-library, revamping the Eagle Eye program, a redesign of the unit level anonymous hazard reporting tool, and initiating an engineering safety petty officer program. Sector Columbia River also expertly addressed the Hexavalent Chromium hazard, by educating maintainers of the risks and ensuring proper PPE availability and usage, through a revamp of the unit’s Occupational Medical Safety Evaluation program. These efforts of the Safety Department, and many others, culminated in the safe execution of 1,700 flight hours, and the prosecution of 88 SAR cases.