Back In Iraq

Being home was really great! I got to go to most of the places that I wanted too, did a lot of the things that I wanted to do, and ate all the food I was missing from home. However, I wish I had some more time. I didn’t get to see everyone that I wanted. I will be back soon enough, and then maybe I’ll get a chance to catch up with everyone.

Apparently more people then my mom actually read this, so I need to start putting more pertinent information into what I write. I guess I’ll start with what I actually do here on base.

I am an Environmental Technician who works under the Heath, Safety and Environmental (HSE) division of KBR. We are known as HAZMAT out of habit because when the contract kicked off, that is what the people in my department dealt with the most. However, we now deal with a wide range of problems that occur here on my base and other bases in the rest of the country. For instance, we do Environmental Base Guideline Surveys which include field research to determine the present status of the environment on base (water, soil, and air). We do soil samples using Petrol Flag instruments that determine the PPM concentration of petroleum products in soil. This is a very important and pressing issue we have here. All the information we gather is written into reports and presented to the higher up KBR and military officials.

These surveys are important because there was a times in this base’s history when it was one of the most polluted areas in Iraq due to the “pervious owners.” It isn’t our job to necessarily clean up historical messes, but we have taken the measures to go above and beyond, when possible, to help eliminate these old environmental concerns. Our main mission it to make sure the area isn’t polluted by the present clients in any way shape or form. And I have to say, we do a damn good job at it.

Unfortunately our work is limited to the life support activities on base, and what KBR and subsidiary contractors operate. In other words everything KBR employees operate and any area under our control. The military, both Army and Air Force, cause a more then a few messes which we will clean up if the military goes though the right channels to “hire” us on a spill to spill bases. Many times we jump in and clean up what is sort of deemed “their problems” with the justification of “doing what is right.” If we are called to an area where a major spill is occurring, even if it isn’t under our jurisdiction, we are not going to just say, “Well it’s not our problem,” and walk away. We always help out, and stop any major catastrophes. I have also taken a shovel in my own hands to help clean up minor messes (<5gallons) knowing that the military would just leave it there. Sad, I know, but they do not educate or follow though with instilling “cleanliness” to its forces.

We also do a lot of preventive measures to keep the soil, air and water from being effected. We help get training for people in departments that need it. We also still do the hazmat work. Things like Hazardous communications and hazardous chemical storage. We also make sure the shipment of chemicals are done properly so to help minimize danger and possible accidents which are a real issue when your shipments are being shot at. The last thing you want is a tractor trailer carrying two incompatible chemicals and then being shot though. I have also written more then a few Emergency Spill and Response plans to help the response actions and times. Many things can’t be prevented, like rockets slamming into 50,000gallon fuel tanks, which has and does happen time to time. We cross those bridges when then come to us.

I like my job because it requires many different elements. This helps from becoming board with what I do. We do massive amounts of research looking though OSHA (29CFR 1910.1200), DOD Military, KBR and DOT regulations to make sure we are in compliance with all of them. This, conversely, can be a pain balancing out multiple regulations when most places and activities in the world only have to worry about one or two at a time. We also do a lot of work out in the field. May it be observations, emergencies, research, requests by sites, or general knowledge exchange with people of various departments (and languages). Lastly, we work with a great deal of people. Shooting emails, scheduling visits, or making phone calls. We have to work with many people to get things done on base. A cool part about that is the people are from all over the world. They have different cultural standards, languages, customs, and beliefs about how things should be done. This of course can make things hard at times.

I sometimes forget how amazing an opportunity like this is. It is a great experience and I am lucky to be over here helping save the world one pile of dirt at a time. HA!

That is a tiny part about my job, and every aspect of what I wrote can be taken into page after page of detail, so I’ll leave it at that now.