How much of your HAZMAT/CBRN training and maintenance shop skills translated into the civilian workplace?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 20:01:08 -0400

Response by SSG Derrick L. Lewis MBA, C-HRM made Jul 16 at 2016 8:03 PM

SSG Derrick L. Lewis MBA, C-HRM — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 20:03:20 -0400

SGT Private RallyPoint Member ,
Personally, not yet as I am still serving. However, I have friends who have ETS'd and maximized the skill set by landing positions with both the EPA and OSHA.

Response by PO1 Tony Holland made Jul 16 at 2016 8:17 PM

PO1 Tony Holland — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 20:17:12 -0400

My Navy Nuclear Power Hazmat and general Electronics Technician training came in very handy a few years after leaving active duty. I was the Materials Manager at a small WV firm that made the Infrared night vision equipment used in Army tanks in the 70's. One day the
Plant Manager called me into his office and asked if I would be willing to assume additional responsibilities as the Plant Safety Manager. After replying affirmatively, he informed me that the OSHA Inspector was waiting for me in the lobby area.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 16 at 2016 8:40 PM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 20:40:13 -0400

My last job was as a safety and health consultant. Before that I had many engineering assignments to make for a safe environment. So my military training was very helpful.

Response by TSgt Joe C. made Jul 16 at 2016 9:00 PM

TSgt Joe C. — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 21:00:17 -0400

It'll be plenty useful once I am done in the military.

Response by Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen made Jul 17 at 2016 11:53 AM

Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 11:53:31 -0400

Pretty much 100% translates into the civilian workforce. While the military is exempt from most OSHA regulations, the procedures followed by the military are pretty similar if not identical to OSHA regulations. Coming out of the military with a working knowledge of HAZMAT/CBRN is a skill that civilian employers desire. Nothing instills more fear in civilian management than the prospect of an OSHA inspection/investigation. Having employees with a working knowledge of how OSHA regulations impact their specific industry is almost mandatory. You may have to spend some time correlating military and OSHA regulations and getting the certifications necessary in the civilian world, but your experience makes that easy and puts you well ahead of civilian counterparts

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Jul 17 at 2016 8:29 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 20:29:50 -0400

At one Client's location that housed a bit and shipped a bit of Hazmat it came in pretty handy but rarely if ever for most Clients.

Response by SGT James Hughes made Jul 19 at 2016 6:09 AM

SGT James Hughes — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 06:09:31 -0400

As a Long haul trucker, because of my HazMat training, i moved large loads of HazMat,

Response by SGT James Colbert made Jul 19 at 2016 8:16 AM

SGT James Colbert — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 08:16:36 -0400

Hospitals and Fire Depts are always looking for hazmat- CBRNE especially trauma centers

Response by SSG Kenneth Wester made Jul 19 at 2016 9:27 AM

SSG Kenneth Wester — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 09:27:20 -0400

I use mine regularly, you would be surprised at the number of occupations it touches. While on a temporary job I was able to extend my time by helping them catalog and label all their HazMat items on the factory floor and make suggestions on collection, storage and disposal, they offered me a job but it wasn't where I wanted to be. In the long run, all your training will come into play either directly or through advice to others.

Response by SPC Wanda Vergara-Yates made Jul 19 at 2016 9:39 AM

SPC Wanda Vergara-Yates — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 09:39:55 -0400

I Reiterate 100% what Lt Col Christensen says. Can you recall the number of companies that hit headlines because of the manner in which they handle / dispose of toxic waste? This is a result of not paying attention to HAZMAT regulations. YOUR experience in properly handling materials that you used during your military service will give you an edge over every candidate with no such experience who is going for positions as Safety/HAZMAT/Quality Assurance officers. Just read the job descriptions and tailor the wording in your resume to suit them. Good luck. You will probably have a job before I do and I've been looking, tweaking and coaxing. Alas, I have no maintenance or HAZMAT handling skills.

Response by SPC Christian Valenti made Jul 19 at 2016 9:40 AM

SPC Christian Valenti — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 09:40:54 -0400

I was a 63B when that existed...as far as education goes, I learned more in high school auto shop. Like most tech jobs, I did my real learning once I was in the shop & field. As far as hazmat, AOAP, etc goes, it helped to have already learned the stuff, but I still had to sit through the X amount of training time required by the company. What has really helped me & helped me help others was my H8 training. I'll tell you what will be really valuable is hybrid/ high voltage training and safety certification. I am always in high demand because of that. Hybrids & fully electric vehicles are here to stay.

Response by SFC Michael Madigan made Jul 19 at 2016 9:47 AM

SFC Michael Madigan — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 09:47:40 -0400

Good Day, My skills sets as a hazmat tech and other CBRN training has come into play and has set a positive path for me. It has allowed to teach hazardous material respond courses at the college level, instruct at the USACBRN School, and provide training to the first responder community. So there are many opportunities out there for you to use your skill sets.

Response by SFC Ralph E Kelley made Jul 19 at 2016 4:24 PM

SFC Ralph E Kelley — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 16:24:45 -0400

A fair amount - I work EMS and the CBRN/NBC protection protocols learned in the army (20 years) were very useful with infectious patients for disease, with infestations of patients with bedbugs/mites/fleas/etc, in environmental hazards such as sewers, when we deal with MVAs where there's blood/vomit/feces/urine everywhere, when we pull people using Oxygen out of toxic atmospheres and finally keeping ourselves plus our equipment cleaned/functional for the next problems 20 minutes later.

Response by LTC Michael Sternfeld made Jul 19 at 2016 5:33 PM

LTC Michael Sternfeld — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 17:33:07 -0400

Without the basic training in NBC and CBRN that I received in the military during 32 years of combined active and reserve service I would have been ill prepared for HAZMAT issues in the civilian work place. Most civilian HAZMAT training was either very condensed or not repeated and updated often enough. That said there are many transportation industry organizations that have robust HAZMAT and up to date training that is regularly scheduled. It all depends on your employer.

Response by SPC Keith Kranick made Jul 19 at 2016 6:10 PM

SPC Keith Kranick — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 18:10:36 -0400

Hazmat helped alot not at first because im not sure of the direction in civilian life i wanted to seek now and the last 15 years it has excelled my career.

Response by SPC George Rudenko made Jul 19 at 2016 7:59 PM

SPC George Rudenko — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 19:59:54 -0400

ALL OF IT! The shipping industry is huge on haZmat. In customs I was a hazmat specialist for the last 12 years or so

Response by 1SG Kenneth Talkington Sr made Jul 19 at 2016 9:34 PM

1SG Kenneth Talkington Sr — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 21:34:54 -0400

Most states and military bases have a need for HAZMAT trained people. Couple your HAZMAT Training with industrial safety and you could probably go to work anywhere.

Response by SGT Harold Watson made Jul 20 at 2016 12:47 AM

SGT Harold Watson — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 00:47:13 -0400

Military HAZMAT training served me well in civilian life...I retired with 38 yrs in the postal service beginning as a letter carrier and finishing as a Postmaster during the crucial period of time of the aftermath of 911 where we had our HAZMAT teams to inspect any suspicious substance that came in the mail....so yes, the military training kicked in

Response by SGT Eliyahu Rooff made Jul 20 at 2016 1:24 AM

SGT Eliyahu Rooff — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 01:24:17 -0400

It's nice to see from the other responses that this training is now accepted in civilian life. When I got out in 1975, none of it was of any value as far as employers were concerned. I'd been a medic, and became a firefighter for thirteen years. Right off the bat, I had to take the basic and advanced first aid courses because I hadn't had those specific courses; just the 91B medical specialist course at the Medical Field Service School, and all the continuing education training that followed over the years. HAZMAT? Nothing there counted until I went to college on my own and took two semesters of Hazardous Materials Chemistry.

Response by SGT John Thomas made Jul 20 at 2016 9:31 AM

SGT John Thomas — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 09:31:30 -0400

These skills are important to civilian employers. I continued working in aviation and they were an integral part of the job. It really depends what industry you go to but if you do a job in the mechanical field those skills will be important.

Response by COL Dale Dahlke made Jul 20 at 2016 12:02 PM

COL Dale Dahlke — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 12:02:56 -0400

Most of it does translate to civilian fields

Response by SGT Alejandro Sarandrea made Jul 20 at 2016 1:34 PM

SGT Alejandro Sarandrea — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 13:34:03 -0400

I'm going to give it to you straight, if your not Tech Escort your going to have to grind your gears and out hustle your peers to find comparable work. I'd advise you to get a degree while your in, if your looking to do comparable work, get a degree in chemistry, nuclear sciences, or emergency management. if you want to transition to a corporate job where you do training or operations or something along those lines get a degree in business management or something complimentary.

The civilian world, not including government work, are afraid of soldiers with the combination of scary words in job titles like ours. The best places to look to transition if you do t want to do the degree thing would be police, firefighters, and a number of other state, local, or federal departments that have an operational need for our very niche skill set.

Go to as many Military Schools as you can, get proof via certificates and credentials that you know what your talking about because employers won't take your word for it. And always keep in mind what it is you want to do, specifically, when you transition to the civilian world so you can figure out how to make yourself a top 10% competitor for the position.

Response by SGT Tim Fridley made Jul 20 at 2016 2:12 PM

SGT Tim Fridley — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 14:12:00 -0400

In most cases 100% Military Regulations are almost identical to OSHA

Response by SPC Johnrey Alinos made Jul 20 at 2016 6:17 PM

SPC Johnrey Alinos — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 18:17:33 -0400

This is for you 88M's. I got out in '98.
I was at Ft. Stewart. 3rd ID!!!. I decided to stay if Florida. All was required from me to get my class A
CDL was my 348 showing I drove vehicles over 26,000lbs. The biggest truck was licensed for was HET. I also showed them my hazmat card. They issued me a A license w/ hazmat. I also got passenger endorsement because I had bus on my 348. Hazmat on your CDL has expiration date. After 9/11, a background check is now required. ($100.00) here in Fl. I think. Check what is required at your home state. Or where ever you decide to work when you get out. YES, having hazmat helps if you are going into the transportation business. More money and work opportunities.

Response by CW3 Doyle Frost made Jul 20 at 2016 8:15 PM

CW3 Doyle Frost — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 20:15:10 -0400

In my case, all of it, in one way or another, in a couple of different positions. As head of a small college B&G department, I was responsible for handling/disposing of all their hazmat/bio hazards/and any unused or bad chemicals.
Second job was Deputy Caretaker Manager for a company hired to dispose of a closed USAF base. You can imagine what I had to deal with there.

Response by 1SG Harold Manbevers made Jul 21 at 2016 1:54 AM

1SG Harold Manbevers — Thu, 21 Jul 2016 01:54:57 -0400

As an Aircraft Technician all of my 42 years in the field HAZMAT has played a major role. It will probably will continue to play a major role in all fields that deal with any Chemicals. Get the Certs for HAZMAT as soon as you can to be at the top of your peers as soon as you can. Further the Certs make you more marketable as well. I highly recomend getting Certified.

Response by 1SG Ken Gillespie made Jul 21 at 2016 5:46 AM

1SG Ken Gillespie — Thu, 21 Jul 2016 05:46:15 -0400

Their are a host of jobs in both the civilian world and civilian military workforce that are looking for former military hazmat experience and you get an extra advantage if you have a security clearance.
I landed a GS 11 job with the army. Keep your certifications updated.

Response by SrA Edward Vong made Jul 21 at 2016 9:07 AM

SrA Edward Vong — Thu, 21 Jul 2016 09:07:58 -0400

It all translates very well depending on your career field of choice. I was a Haz manager and I translated that as logistics, file keeping, and I built a database just for all the materials we had so I have data experience. It all depends on how you word it.

Response by SFC Robert Ables made Jul 26 at 2016 9:14 AM

SFC Robert Ables — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 09:14:08 -0400

It has allowed me to work as an Instructor at a Vo-tech, I spent 23 years in and then spent 20 years as a firefighter/paramedic, it has helped me with working as a professional firefighter, and it has opened other doors in the emergency management field that has allowed for me to attend more specific classes on on Hazmat, Confined space rescue...ect. In closing depending on what avenue you choose to follow in the civilian world it can be a great start to get your foot in the door, if you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me, good luck.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 14 at 2016 1:31 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 14 Oct 2016 13:31:42 -0400

Even not MOS Q'd my CERF-P experience has. Landed me my job that I currently have now. I now stand in front of thousands of people and explain why Decontamination is so important and provide organizations the opportunity to learn what Industry has provided to help out the military with their CBRN needs.