Since graduating from Lakewood High School in 1980, Mario Owens has obtained more than two decades of experience in Army safety and occupational health and has risen to the highest civil service General Schedule of GS-15 (equivalent to a Colonel or O6). He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, North Carolina and possesses a Master's degree in Industrial Technology - Safety Management from Texas A&M University-Commerce, Texas. He has also completed years of study with Indiana University of Bloomington, Indiana and numerous military schools and courses.

Mario began his civil service career with the U.S. Army Health Services Command, currently the U.S. Army Medical Command as a safety intern on 29 Feb 88 (Leap Year). After completing eight months of formal training at the former U.S. Army Safety Center, currently the U.S. Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center, he was assigned to DeWitt Army Community Hospital, Preventive Medicine Services, Fort Belvoir, VA. He served as the Hospital Safety Manager while completing the Army's two-year safety internship. In that position he was a key player in the hospital obtaining its first accreditation from the Joint Commission of Health Care Organization or JCAHO.

In March 1990, he accepted a safety position under the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army where he remained until Feb 96 working program compliance initiatives and safety and health promotion campaigns.

In February 1996, Mario reported to Headquarters, Area 1 West (Provisional) to serve as the Safety and Occupational Health and Environmental Manager, Camp Red Cloud, Korea. This was an unaccompanied hardship tour where he managed safety, health and environmental programs for the largest Area Support Group in Korea consisting of three enclaves, approximately 48 Camps and nearly 50 safety and health professionals.

Mario reported back to the Pentagon in March 1997 for approximately four months under the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army to work special projects; i.e., workers compensation, facility designs, program compliance initiatives, etc.

In June of 1997 he was selected as the Senior Safety Specialist for the Army National Guard Bureau where he remained until July 1999. In this position his primary duties consisted of helping design state-of-the art indoor and outdoor firing ranges and working compliance initiatives around ammunition and explosives. Additionally, he headed up numerous task forces at each of the many guard regions to work programs for reducing privately owned vehicles accidents.

Later in July 1999 Mario reported to 19th Theater Support Command in Taegu, Korea to serve as the Safety and Occupational Health Manager. He remained in this position until July 2001. In this position he served as the senior safety official for each of the four Area Support Groups in Korea which comprised nearly 98 camps and approximately 100 safety and occupational Health professionals to include local nationals.

Mario was selected in July 2001 to serve as a safety manager with the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. In this position he was the only safety 018 and worked with numerous safety engineers on various "strategic" space and missile defense systems and safety promotion and awareness initiatives.

In April 2003 Mario reported back to the Washington Metropolitan Area as a safety manager in the Army Safety Office. He was a key player in orchestrating the 2003 Army Safety and Occupational Health Conference and working time-sensitive safety and health initiatives across the various Army commands.

In July 2004 Mario reported to the former U.S. Army Installation Management Agency, now U.S. Army Installation Management Command, to serve as the Safety and Occupational Health Manager. In this position he has oversight of nearly 412 safety and occupational health professionals spread across 79 Army Garrisons and 179 installations worldwide.