Team MacDill Safety Office named best by Air Force Published March 26, 2012 By Nick Stubbs 6th Air Mobility WIng Public Affairs MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- "The Air Force Chief of Safety Outstanding Achievement Award for Ground Safety." It has a nice ring to it; especially reverberating off the walls of the MacDill Safety Office, which learned last week that it was judged top Air Force ground safety unit in its class for 2011. The prestigious award follows being selected tops in Air Mobility Command, a title the office has earned three times since 2006. Winning at the Air Force level is affirmation that the safety crew at MacDill is on the right path. "A lot of hard work" by the team went into the win, said Jason Jackson, 6th Air Mobility Wing ground safety manager. "It was overall teamwork," said Jackson. "It wasn't just one outstanding person." It didn't hurt that the numbers showed team MacDill was a substantially safer place to live and work in 2011. "Our number of mishaps went down significantly from the previous year," said Jackson. "That helped, I'm sure." The MacDill safety team won the Air Force award for Category III, which is for safety units serving less than 4,000 members. In addition to the award, the Safety Office also received special recognition Air Force plaques for Explosives Safety and Ground Safety categories during 2011. The safety crew was still riding high on the news this week, but it isn't letting it distract them from the tasks ahead. "We're coming into the 101 Critical Days of Summer," said Jackson, referring to the annual safety awareness program that emphasizes the unique risks summer presents, including safety issues related to outdoor activities such as biking, boating and traveling common during the warmer months. Details about this year's safety campaign will be emerging as the program nears its Memorial Day kickoff, but Jackson said it will be a mix of successful events from previous years along with some new things still in the works.