Normalization of Explosives Safety Regulations Between U.S. Navy and Australian Defence Force

摘要

Global positioning of forces and joint operations with U.S. allies places armed U.S. Navy (USN) ships, as well as U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) aircraft, at allied ports and airfields. U.S. forces must currently adhere to the explosives safety requirements of the host nation, unless the U.S. has control of the real estate, as under a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA); in the later case, the Navy processes site approvals through the Department of Defense Explosives Safety Board (DDESB). When site approvals are not in place, event waivers must be issued. The U.S. Navy has partnered with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Australian Director of Ordnance Safety (DOS), and the DDESB over the past two years to reach a consensus on the normalization of explosives safety regulations. This effort has demonstrated that the Australian licensing process (based on NATO criteria) is equivalent to, or more restrictive than, U.S. criteria for the same applications. The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) submitted a request to the DDESB in December 2009, for USN ships, as well as USN and USMC aircraft, to operate in Australia under Australian Defence Force (ADF) criteria, at licensed locations, without the need to request DDESB site approvals or issue event waivers. This initiative also enhances U.S. interoperability with allied nations and may provide opportunities for similar ventures with other nations that have comparable safety programs. The final DDESB acceptance of this request should be completed prior to the final presentation paper submission date.