Environmental Health Officer AL GA

U.S. Navy • Macon, GA, United States • $200k - $250k / year • 4d ago

The world is taking communicable diseases more seriously than ever before. As an Environmental Health Officer, your career is vital in analyzing and preventing the transmission of viruses and biological agents. When you’re a Sailor living aboard ships and submarines, avoiding illness is crucial to the mission. This role involves ensuring the workplace remains safe and clean, including proper food service sanitation and water treatment practices, as well as assessing and responding to viral and bioterrorism threats.

Navy Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) focus on the prevention and control of diseases in Navy and Marine Corps populations. In this role, your responsibilities may include:

Determining effective methods of assessing threats to public health
Conducting ongoing disease and environmental surveillance
Identifying potential dangers and developing countermeasures for actual and potential threats
Providing guidance to Commanding Officers on matters relating to public health and sanitation
Championing essential programs that protect public health and promote sanitary practices
Earning a nationally recognized credential as a Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) from the National Environmental Health Association

This role covers many areas of specialization. As an EHO, your work may focus on:

Food service sanitation and safety
Public health sanitation
Water and wastewater safety in both ashore and afloat environments
Communicable disease control
Risk communication
Biostatistical and epidemiological threat assessment
Thermal stress control
Vector control
Preventive medicine
Disease outbreak prevention and investigation
Bioterrorism defense

Navy Environmental Health Officers may serve at any one of more than 250 Navy and medical facilities around the globe, from Hawaii to Japan, Germany to Guam, and Washington, D.C. to Washington state.

Upon completion of college or graduate school, those pursuing an Environmental Health Officer position are required to attend Officer Development School (ODS) in Newport, RI. ODS is a five-week program that provides a comprehensive and intense introduction to the responsibilities of Navy Staff Corps Officers.

Once training is complete, you may be assigned to a Naval Medical Center, a dedicated hospital ship, or the Navy Environmental Health Center (NEHC) in Portsmouth, VA. Promotion opportunities are regularly available but competitive and based on performance.

Qualifications:

A degree from a four-year college or university is a minimum educational requirement to become a Commissioned Officer. You must also attend Officer Training. There may be exceptions to the degree requirements based on extensive service experience.

Basic Requirements:

Be a U.S. citizen currently practicing in the United States
Hold a Bachelor’s or Master's degree in environmental health from an EHAC-accredited program, OR a Master's of Public Health degree with a concentration in environmental health from a CEPH-accredited college
Completed coursework in environmental health, epidemiology, food safety, water quality, air quality, solid waste and wastewater management, communicable diseases, public health sanitation, vector control, toxicology, risk assessment, risk communication, biostatistics, and microbiology
Be willing to serve a minimum of three years of Active Duty
Be between the ages of 18 and 41
Be in good physical condition and pass a full medical examination

Preferred Requirements:

Certification as a Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) or Registered Sanitarian (RS) through the National Environmental Health Association or a state agency
Field experience in an environmental health-related occupation
Completed graduate-level coursework with GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale
Interview by an Active Duty Environmental Health Officer (Lieutenant or above)

General qualifications may vary depending upon whether you’re currently serving, whether you’ve served before or whether you’ve never served before.

Serving part-time as a Navy Reserve Officer, your duties will be carried out during your scheduled drilling and training periods. During monthly drilling, Environmental Health Officers in the Navy Reserve typically work at a location close to their homes.

For Annual Training, Environmental Health Officers may serve anywhere in the world, whether at sea, in hospitals stateside, or on bases in countries around the world.

Most of what you do in the Navy Reserve is considered training. The basic Navy Reserve commitment involves training a minimum of one weekend a month (referred to as drilling) and two weeks a year (referred to as Annual Training) – or the equivalent.

With flexible training options, Medical Service Corps Officers in the Navy Reserve can comfortably balance civilian and military schedules.

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