The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has designated Hanscom AFB, Mass., as a Voluntary Protection Program Star certified site. It is the first such certification for an active duty Air Force installation. (The Minnesota Air National Guard’s 148th Fighter Wing received an OSHA VPP Star in 2008.) OSHA inspectors reviewed Hanscom’s program in May, including site visits and discussions with employees. “The commitment on behalf of management and employees to VPP was outstanding,” said Bob Sands, OSHA’s Region 1 VPP manager. (Hanscom report by Rhonda Siciliano)
Retired Col. Carlyle "Smitty" Harris, known for introducing the "tap code" by which American POWs in North Vietnam could surreptitiously communicate with one another, died July 6. Harris was brutalized by the North Vietnamese over almost eight years of captivity.