Airman improves bio waste program on forward operation base

Staff Sgt. Chad Whitehead, carries bio waste from his vehicle to put in an incinerator on the edge of Forward Operating Base Ghazni August 25, 2013. Whitehead is a Forward Surgical Team emergency room technician and NCO in charge of Mortuary affairs here. He is deployed from Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., and a native of Texarkana, Texas. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Staff Sgt. Stephenie Wade)

Airman improves bio waste program on forward operation base

Staff Sgt. Chad Whitehead, carries bio waste from a storage container to his vehicle to transport to an incinerator on the edge of Forward Operating Base Ghazni August 25, 2013. Whitehead is a Forward Surgical Team emergency room technician and NCO in charge of Mortuary affairs here. He is deployed from Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., and a native of Texarkana, Texas. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Staff Sgt. Stephenie Wade)

Airman improves bio waste program on forward operation base

Staff Sgt. Chad Whitehead, checks on the progress of burning bio waste in an incinerator on Forward Operating Base Ghazni August 25, 2013. Whitehead is in charge of disposing of bio waste here. After its placed in the incinerator he has to check on it every forty-five minutes to ensure that the bio waste is being disposed of properly. Whitehead is a Forward Surgical Team emergency room technician and NCO in charge of Mortuary affairs here. He is deployed from Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., and a native of Texarkana, Texas. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Staff Sgt. Stephenie Wade)

Airman improves bio waste program on forward operation base

Published Sept. 2, 2013
By Staff Sgt. Stephenie Wade
455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Every day Staff Sgt. Chad Whitehead drives out to the edge of the Forward Operating Base Ghazni to dispose of bio-waste, it's a necessary task to make sure that the health and sanitation of service members stationed here is maintained.

However, when Whitehead, a Forward Surgical Team Emergency Room technician, first arrived on FOB Ghazni, he saw there was a problem with the bio-waste disposal program that needed attention.

"The waste incinerators were broken here, causing previous rotations to ship bio-waste to other locations to get it disposed of properly," said Whitehead, also the NCO in charge of a mortuary affairs. "When we arrived, the base had accumulated a years' worth of waste located in a storage container outside our building."

FOB Ghazni is home to Polish, U.S. Army and Air Force service members. The Air Force FST is in charge of storing and disposing of all base's bio waste. Bio waste can consists of human and animal bio-mass, expired medications and used medical supplies.

"When our team's leadership noticed that Ghazni had broken incinerators, we contacted the equipment's contractor to show us how to fix and use the machine," said Whitehead, native of Texarkana, Texas. "We have three broken incinerators here, so I took parts from two to make one operational."

Whitehead has put 800 man hours into burning waste during his deployment. It is a time consuming tasks, but essential task.

"I have to drive about an hour to go get gas, drive to the opposite side to fuel the incinerators then wait for them to heat up," said Whitehead, deployed from Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. "Once it's at the right temperature, I drive the waste to the incinerator in rotations, depending the amount. Then every forty-five minutes I will check on the burning process."

According to Whitehead, disposing of the waste on base is safer for everyone.

"It's not safe to transport waste to another base to get burned and it poses health risks to others when it piles up," said Whitehead. "It only makes sense to dispose of it on the base it's located as soon as possible. It will save the Air Force money and time."