JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
From sampling the base's water to making sure the environments Joint Base Andrews personnel work in are safe to testing the quality of the air, bioenvironmental technicians are critical to mission success.
"We provide health-risk assessments to make sure the commander has all the information when making critical decisions," said Senior Airman Thomas Hollingsworth, 779th Aerospace Medicine Squadron bioenvironmental technician. "We also optimize combat performance and minimize casualties in the case of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents."
The career field provides a number of services to JBA and the Air Force at-large: the JBA technicians accomplish approximately 1400 gas mask fittings and 144 water tests per year.
"We do gas mask fittings, shop assessments and water sampling among other things," Hollingsworth said. "We can test from occupational hazards from radiation to noise levels."
Technicians also keep the youngest JBA members safe.
"We assess work environments relative to individual pregnancies," Hollingsworth said. "There are many occupational hazards that could harm the mother or put the pregnancy in danger. For example, chemicals used by the Civil Engineer Squadron can pose significant health risks."
The same technicians testing water samples and checking air quality don HazMat suits in case of emergencies.
"CBRN response is an important part of the job," Hollingsworth said. "We gather as much information regarding the incident as possible. We then suit up and respond to and minimize risks posed by extremely hazardous materials, dealing with visual hazards and testing the air, water and anything else that could put the public at risk."
With the danger and subject matter so grievous, the job can still be rewarding.
"I love my job," said Airman 1st Class Ashton McLaughlin, 779th AMDS bioenvironmental technician. "We get to interact with a lot of different people on base. It feels good to keep the population safe and secure."