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New amnesty box saves time and money

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Desiree W. Moye
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
12/20/2013 --  SOUTHWEST ASIA -- The 386th Expeditionary Medical Group Pharmacy implemented an amnesty box program for Biological and Chemical Warfare antidote kits here Dec. 7.

Service members now have the ability to turn in the kits, a force health protection prescription product, into a black box marked "BW/CW" right outside the pharmacy entrance.

"This new process will allow members, in-transit and out-processing, to turn in their antidote kits 24 hours a day," said Staff Sgt. Jared Jessup, 386th Expeditionary Medical Group pharmacy technician, deployed from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., who headed up the project. It also saves the medical group approximately 20 man-hours each month by reducing the sorting, documentation, transport and destruction time.

Prior to the amnesty box program, extended preparation went into the kit destruction required by the Class 8 warehouse, located two hours away, according to Jessup. It was mandatory for each individual component of the BWCW kit to be documented and separated by a lot code number prior to destruction through Class 8, he said.


Jessup identified it as an inefficient method and began working an alternative through his chain of command and Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD).

Senior Master Sgt. John Beebe, 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron EOD superintendent, offered an attainable solution -- C4 explosives.

"Every week or so, in addition to other objects needing to be demolished, EOD gathers pharmacy amnesty box items," said Beebe. "Then we report to customs what will be destroyed during our own training demolition operations."

All potentially hazardous material is destroyed.

This initiative benefits two units on The Rock. The pharmacy properly disposes of the BW/CW kits while EOD completes monthly disposal detonation training.

"Jessup created a solution in line with AFI standards, and it works well with the participating units," said Capt. Tara Stogdill, 386th EMDG officer-in-charge of ancillary services.