Bioenvironmental engineering students achieve certification Published Oct. 17, 2014 By Tech. Sgt. Maurice Madril Bioenvironmental engineering apprentice course director WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- Bioenvironmental Engineering (BE) personnel are required to achieve a training certification in hazardous materials operations (HMO). Until recently, BE officer and BE apprentice students graduated from their respective initial skills courses at the United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine having to complete the training certification with the fire department at their assigned duty station. As a result, the career field faced challenges with a lack of standardized training among different bases. Additionally, unit funding and manpower constraints placed limitations on the availability and timeliness of Airmen achieving their training certification. To counteract these challenges, course leaders revised the course curriculum and integrated HMO training certification within the BE officer and BE apprentice courses. As a result, these courses now include a three-day trip to the Ohio Fire Academy in Columbus, Ohio, where students achieve the required HMO training certification. For the first time in the BE career field history, 25 apprentice students recently attended HMO training offered by the Ohio Fire Academy . With 88th Air Base Wing Transportation support, the students left Wright-Patterson AFB with a 72-hour "go" bag while a team of BE cadre followed carrying specialty response training equipment, including a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and a multitude of chemical sampling equipment. Upon arrival at the fire academy, students in-processed and immediately started day of training (DOT) one. During the next 11 hours, students received lectures about the science behind hazardous materials, chemical properties and effects of chemicals, and ways to recognize and identify hazards during a response. The long day set the tone and prepared them for DOT two, which expanded on the Incident Command System and the response phase of the National Incident Management System. On DOT three, students completed a "capstone" project. Students were required to pass a 100-question test as well as a practical examination in which they evaluated mission specific competencies, demonstrated the ability to don Level A and B suits and the SCBA, and operated chemical sampling equipment. The BE apprentice students who graduated were the first to leave USAFSAM having earned four National Fire Protection Association certificates. Consequently, each BE apprentice is one step closer to being a full-fledged Bioenvironmental Engineering Disaster team responder.