MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- The Station Roadmaster recently kicked off a new program designed to enforce the Before, During and After Checks and Services of government vehicles.
The Roadmaster Tagging Program is aimed toward "bringing about more vehicle awareness aboard the Station," said Chief Warrant Officer Herbie Morris, Station motor transport officer.
During random checks, the Roadmaster will attach a Roadmaster Inspection Tag to Garrison Mobile Equipment. A GME driver will only find the tag while conducting a proper BDA inspection.
After finding the tag, the driver must call the dispatcher as soon as possible with the vehicles tag number and current meter reading and then return the tag to Station Motor Transport.
If the tag is not reported and returned in a reasonable amount of time, three to four days at the most, the Roadmaster will go to the location of the GME and contact the responsible party, noted Morris. The Roadmaster will then point out the tag and the time and date it was placed.
The Roadmaster will then enter in the report in a database and a full report will be presented to the Station commander.
"As of now there are no penalties," said Morris. "In time, units that continually neglect to do the checks and report the tags may loose that vehicle, but I don't think that should be a problem. If Marines do the BDA checks and report a small problem we can get the vehicle in the shop, fix it and have them back on the road, usually that same day."
"But if little problems go unreported they turn into big ones," added Morris, "and the vehicle ends up in the shop for weeks."
Proper BDA checks are important not only for safety reasons, but for financial ones as well.
"We are trying to cut down on expensive repairs that can be stopped by using the BDA checks," said Morris. "This Station has invested over $3 million in its GME fleet over the past three years, and we are trying to take care of them."
"Some vehicles on base get neglected, but this tagging program should bring about the needed awareness", said Sgt. Derrick Boyd, Station Roadmaster.
"The program is a very helpful tool and it will ensure the safety and the reliability of our vehicles that play a key part in mission accomplishment," he added.