Army Lt. Col. Torrance Cleveland addresses Zutendaal staff during the Zutendaal Safety Stand Down on June 13th, 2019 in Zutendaal, Belgium. (U.S. Army photo by Corey Horn)

U.S. Army Field Support Battalion - Benelux conducts safety stand-down

ZUTENDAAL, Belgium -- U.S. Army Field Support Battalion - Benelux hosted its first Safety Stand Down Day on June 13 in Zutendaal, Belgium. The day was comprised of a series of training opportunities and seminars in the areas of safety, conflict resolution, teambuilding, employee development and employee/leader engagement.

AFSBn-Benelux provides mission command Army Prepositioned Stocks operations in Eygelshoven, Netherlands and Zutendaal, Belgium. Its mission is to receive, store, maintain and “on notice” issue APS to U.S. Army Soldiers in support of contingency operations in the European theater of operations.

“In a fast-paced high optempo environment like Zutendaal, it is important to slow down, remind, and teach the importance of safe practices and teamwork when every team member must be able to rely on their co-workers serving to their left and right,” said P. Corey Horn, APS-2 Zutendaal site director.

According to Horn, safety is a number-one priority, and every employee serves as a safety officer. He routinely stressed the importance for all team members to show up physically, mentally and consistently on the job. Doing so goes a long ways towards ensuring employees can count on one another and on leadership to make the best decisions possible for the workforce and the mission.

In addition to safety instruction, employees also participated in leader/employee engagement, team building, and employee development seminars and surveys. Senior site leaders facilitated instruction and discussion among the teams.

FULL CAPABILITY

Zutendaal, home to a U.S. Army unit in the 1980s and 1990s, reopened its doors to the U.S. Army in November 2017. The site is approaching 19 months in operation and in conjunction with the U.S. Army Garrison Benelux has made great strides towards reaching full capability.

At a combined end-state strength of over 200 employees and with just over half of employees currently on board, Battalion and Site leadership assessed the time as perfect to execute a site-wide stand down. The bedrock of the Zutendaal workforce is host nation personnel. These employees hold positions ranging from entry level to senior supervisors.

“People are an organization’s most important resource,” said Horn.

Story by Army Field Support Battalion - Benelux