SOUTHWEST ASIA --
Deployments take U.S. service members to a wide range of new locations and unknown environments across the globe. Each can bring a unique set of challenges and potential health risks to the military members.
U.S. Air Force bioenvironmental engineering specialists use a multifaceted approach to reducing those hazards, both where deployed service members live and work at the 407th Air Expeditionary Group.
“To compare us to the civilian world, you have to take four agencies and combine them together,” said Technical Sgt. Tomas Mata, 332d EMDG bioenvironmental engineering specialist. “We are like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Nuclear Regulatory Committee and the Department of Homeland Security. We're the overreaching arm to make sure our people are safe and healthy both while home and deployed.”
Although deployed service members can find themselves in new and unknown surroundings, the bioenvironmental team works to ensure the installation, work sites and living areas meet rigorous standards to keep personnel safe.
To maintain these standards, the bioenvironmental team provides multiple services across the installation including air sampling, work site health assessments, water testing and chemical vulnerability appraisals. The team uses this compiled data to prevent illnesses and injuries before they occur.
“Our job is to make sure we keep the bad stuff from happening, rather than responding when it does,” said Mata. “If you take bio out of the picture, you're taking the preventative part of medicine and making it reactionary.”
While the team works to ensure service members are safe before injuries or sickness happen, Staff Sgt. Anthony LaCombe, 332d EMDG bioenvironmental engineering specialist, said it's not always possible to prevent the hazards. When this happens, the team is prepared to respond to help service members in need.
In the event of an intentional release of chemical, biological or radioactive warfare agents, bioenvironmental works in partnership with emergency management, security forces and the fire department, to determine the threat, advise commanders and ascertain viable treatment methods.
The medical group also uses the bioenvironmental specialists' data to aid medical providers in treating patients. Bioenvironmental specialists provide concrete information on the environment, hazards and chemicals that help guide the care of patients that may have been exposed.
“A doctor treats a patient based on what the patient tells them and what they can observe,” said Mata. “We further enrich that process by providing data on the place where person was exposed. We complement the clinical care with information on the hazard which gives providers a clear picture on how to approach treatment and care.”
This data doesn't just help doctors in short-term treatment. The team logs their data in personnel medical files to ensure providers can make informed treatment decisions years after the service member's exposure.
“We're here to not only make sure we have a healthy force for right now, but continued health after the military,” said LaCombe. “Life goes on after military service, so we want to ensure they're healthy in the Air Force and live a long healthy life after they leave.
Ultimately, Mata said his team's mission is to make sure their fellow service member have peace of mind while executing their mission.
“Our Airmen are working high ops.” he said. “We're here to make sure they're taken care of so they can keep their mind on the mission and bring the fight to the enemy.”