Environmental Health and Safety Specialists
Background
Each military base is a small community. The health and well-being of the residents and surrounding land is a major concern of the services. Keeping military work places and living areas sanitary helps to prevent illness. Environmental health and safety specialists inspect military facilities and food supplies for the presence of disease, germs, or other conditions hazardous to health and the environment.
What They Do
Environmental health and safety specialists in the military perform some or all of the following duties:
- Analyze food and water samples to ensure quality
- Conduct health and safety investigations of living quarters and base facilities
- Monitor noise and radiation levels at job sites
- Monitor storage, transportation, and disposal of hazardous waste
- Provide training on industrial hygiene, environmental health, and occupational health issues
Physical Demands
Normal color vision is required to inspect foods for quality and freshness.
Special Requirements
No information available.
Helpful Attributes
Helpful attributes include:
- Interest in gathering information
- Interest in protecting the environment
- Preference for work requiring attention to detail
Helpful School Subjects
Helpful school subjects include:
- Algebra
- Biology
- Chemistry
- General science
Helpful Fields of Study
No information available.
Work Environment
Environmental health specialists work indoors while inspecting food facilities and buildings. They work outdoors while inspecting waste disposal facilities and field camps.
Services offering this career:
- Air Force
- Army
- Marine Corps
- Navy
Hiring Practices
To serve in the military, a person must be at least 17; the maximum age for enlistment varies. To enlist, a person must pass a physical exam and an aptitude test. An enlistee must also meet military standards of discipline and be a US citizen or permanent resident alien.
This position is for enlisted personnel.
Wages
The military is competitive with the civilian world when it comes to pay and benefits. All branches offer the same basic pay and benefits.
Pay depends mainly on rank or grade as well as length of service. Bonuses and the situation in which the person is serving (for example: flight duty, sea duty, hazardous duty) also affect pay.
Cost-of-living increases usually occur every year, based on inflation. The military also pays allowances for food, clothing, and housing. All these factors combined are called Regular Military Compensation (RMC). They should all be considered when comparing military pay to civilian pay.
There are two main parts to RMC: basic pay and allowances. There are also additional incentives for special abilities, training, or hazardous duty.
Check out the RMC Calculator to calculate your RMC based on your inputs.
Training Provided
Job training consists of 11 to 19 weeks of classroom instruction, including practice in making health and sanitation inspections. Training length varies depending on specialty.
Course content typically includes:
- Identification of health hazards
- Inspection of food products and food service operations
- Inspection of wastewater and waste disposal facilities
Further training occurs on the job and through advanced courses.
Civilian Counterparts
Most civilian environmental health and safety specialists work for local, state, and federal government agencies. Their duties are similar to the duties of military environmental health specialists. They may be called food and drug inspectors, public health inspectors, health and safety inspectors, or industrial hygienists.
Related Civilian Careers
- Compliance Officers and Inspectors
- Fire Inspectors
- Occupational Health and Safety Specialists
- Occupational Health and Safety Technicians
- Safety Engineers
Employment and Outlook
In peace time the services have about 5,500 environmental health and safety specialists. In times of military action the number may be different, depending on the type of specialties required. Each year the services need new specialists due to changes in personnel and the demands of the field. After job training, environmental health and safety specialists help to make inspections. With experience, they work more independently and may supervise other environmental health and safety specialists. Eventually, they may become superintendents of environmental health programs at large military bases.