Posted on Jul 16, 2016
How much of your HAZMAT/CBRN training and maintenance shop skills translated into the civilian workplace?
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CBRN Defense Course
NBC Defense Course
CBRN
HAZMAT
Transition
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 30
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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As a Long haul trucker, because of my HazMat training, i moved large loads of HazMat,
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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.
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.
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PO1 Tony Holland
Back by demand ---
Our plant was in a two story warehouse type building adjacent to downtown Huntington, WV. The offices, assembly areas and shipping were on the upper floor. The lower floor was two banks of lens grinding machines with a central corridor punctuated by large swinging doors at each end. The OSHA inspector and I entered from the front and proceeded down the aisle as he checked for floor mats and safe electrical cutoff switches at each station. As I looked ahead I noticed an extremely thick extension cord coming down from a hole cut in the ceiling --- a definite no-no. Just as the inspector started to look in that direction, the swinging doors at the far end banged open. We both stood there, mouths hanging open, as the Production Manager chased on of his maintenance employees into the room while trying to goose him with a broom. The inspector was so flabbergasted that he forgot to inspect the rest of the building. Never did hear anything from OSHA on what had to be an extremely hazardous safety violation around operating equipment -- most likely his bosses couldn't believe what he reported, if he did.
Our plant was in a two story warehouse type building adjacent to downtown Huntington, WV. The offices, assembly areas and shipping were on the upper floor. The lower floor was two banks of lens grinding machines with a central corridor punctuated by large swinging doors at each end. The OSHA inspector and I entered from the front and proceeded down the aisle as he checked for floor mats and safe electrical cutoff switches at each station. As I looked ahead I noticed an extremely thick extension cord coming down from a hole cut in the ceiling --- a definite no-no. Just as the inspector started to look in that direction, the swinging doors at the far end banged open. We both stood there, mouths hanging open, as the Production Manager chased on of his maintenance employees into the room while trying to goose him with a broom. The inspector was so flabbergasted that he forgot to inspect the rest of the building. Never did hear anything from OSHA on what had to be an extremely hazardous safety violation around operating equipment -- most likely his bosses couldn't believe what he reported, if he did.
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Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen
See my comment; you experienced that management fear of OSHA first hand! Sounds like you punched the better lucky than smart ticket during that inspection.
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SGT (Join to see) ,
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.
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.
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SSG Derrick L. Lewis MBA, C-HRM
SGT (Join to see) ,
No, they were 92 CMF with the attainment of the same certifications. As 74, 92, 89, and 51 CMF's strongly correlate with one another.
No, they were 92 CMF with the attainment of the same certifications. As 74, 92, 89, and 51 CMF's strongly correlate with one another.
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SGT (Join to see)
SSG Derrick L. Lewis MBA, C-HRM - I've never heard a 89D say nice things bout a 74. 92 and 51 make sense, though.
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SSG Derrick L. Lewis MBA, C-HRM
SGT (Join to see) ,
And you probably won't, but all the CMFs pull off the same lifeline. Especially for promotion points.
And you probably won't, but all the CMFs pull off the same lifeline. Especially for promotion points.
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SGT (Join to see)
SSG Derrick L. Lewis MBA, C-HRM - I've known many 74's stuck at SGT and SSG's going to gold to keep progressing. Thanks for the fun fact.
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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.
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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.
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