The services take great care to ensure safe working conditions and a clean environment. A clean, safe, and healthy environment results in happier employees and better work. Environmental health and safety officers study the air, ground, and water to identify and analyze sources of pollution and its effects. They also direct programs to control safety and health hazards in the work place.
What They Do
Environmental health and safety officers in the military perform some or all of the following duties:
- Determine methods to collect environmental data for research projects and surveys
- Analyze data to identify pollution problem areas
- Inspect food samples to detect any spoilage or disease
- Develop pollution control plans and policies
- Identify training needs and conduct health education programs
- Work with civilian public health officials in performing studies and analyzing results
- Conduct investigations of communicable diseases and food borne disease outbreaks
Helpful Attributes
Helpful fields of study include chemistry, biology, environmental sciences, soil science, civil engineering, and veterinary science. Helpful attributes include:
- Interest in conducting research or analytical studies
- Interest in protecting the environment
- Interest in work requiring accuracy and attention to detail
Training Provided
No initial job training is provided to officers in this occupation.
Work Environment
Environmental health and safety officers normally work in offices or research laboratories. They work outdoors while conducting environmental studies and surveys or inspecting facilities.
Civilian Counterparts
Civilian environmental health and safety officers work for engineering firms, manufacturing firms, and government agencies. They perform duties similar to those performed by military environmental health and safety officers. Depending on their specialty, they may be called environmental scientists, air pollution analysts, soil analysts, industrial hygienists, or water quality analysts.
