CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (July  2010) - Corpus Christi Army Depot earned
Star Status for excellence in employee safety and health following an
on-site visit and evaluation by the U.S. Department of Labor's
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The Voluntary
Protection Program achievement culminates a five-year effort to improve
safety conditions for the workforce at the depot.

As only the third Army Materiel Command organization to receive the
designation, CCAD joins Tobyhanna Army Depot and Crane Army Ammunition
Activity.

"This accomplishment is the result of 5500-plus employees working
together toward a significant and desirable goal," said Col. Christopher
B. Carlile, CCAD Commander. "It sets the tone, but does not end here.
This ensures employee safety is a top priority. We'll move from this
point forward."

The depot decided to improve its occupational safety and health programs
after being listed on the Department of Defense's Federal Employees'
Compensation Act Top 40 list in 2005. The FECA list is an indicator for
lost time incidents and days off due to injuries.

A letter from the Assistant Secretary for OSHA David Michaels, PhD, MPH,
congratulated CCAD, "You have joined an elite group of organizations
that provide exemplary occupational safety and health protection and
serve as models for others."

CCAD Safety team members coordinated with OSHA in 2005 to instill a
safety-first culture within the workforce to ensure a safe working
environment for its employees. As a result, lost-time incidents,
total-days-off and lost-production hours are decreasing annually while
production hours are on the rise.

In 2009, CCAD dropped off the FECA Top 40 list. The indicators, Total
Case Incident Rate (TCIR) and Days Away Restricted/Transfer (DART), have
improved significantly-a third of what they were in 2006.

Michaels added, "Your qualification for OSHA's premiere recognition
program is a testament to the efforts you and your employees have made
to develop and implement a VPP-quality safety and health management
system."

The depot employs approximately 5600 Dept. of Defense civilians and
contractors, who work to overhaul, repair, modify, retrofit and
modernize DoD rotary wing aircraft in support of Warfighters. The depot
also trains National Guard, Army Reserve, Active Duty Army and friendly
foreign military and provides world-wide on-site maintenance, aircraft
crash analysis, oil analysis and chemical/metallurgical support.

Corpus Christi Army Depot joins an elite corps of almost 2,200 worksites
nationwide that have earned VPP Star status including local South Texas
industry leaders: Naval Health Clinic Corpus Christi, Valero, Flint
Hills, Koch Carbon's Petroleum Coke Facility, Scott Electric at Valero,
Lyondell, Celanese Chemicals & Ticona Polymer Facility and US Ecology,
Inc,