72D - Environmental Science Officer

[jburnham77]

Hey guys:
Does anyone have any good info on this MOS?
Or does anyone know where I can obtain solid info about the field and continuing education? I am having a hard time getting info from recruiters and officers already in the field. Sounds as if the MOS is not used much. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[FireRescue]

First thing I would worry about if I were you is if the MOS is even available in your state, if it isn't I doesn't much matter what its like. Secondly my answer would be google is your friend. I know this isn't the kind of info you were looking for but its the best advise I can give you.

[matthew.ritchie]

It is very rare. Your state may not even have a slot. For best guidance, find DA Pam 600-4, and find the section on that specialty. In addition, talk with your State's AMEDD recruiter.

[jburnham77]

FireRescue and matthew.ritchie :

appreciate the info....as for google....the descriptions are all over the place (as in not consistant) depending on Army Active, Reserve, or NG. My state does have slots...I went to board Nov. 01....still have not heard results...not sure why. I have spoken with AMEDD - no definite answers. I am beginning to think this is going to be a "make my own" MOS. I have seen the 600-4 - it still seems kind of general. I appreciate the help.....if you can think of anything else, let me know.

[jburnham77]

Is there a way to make contact with other 72D s?

[iObserve]

jburnham77; what do you need to know? I am set to go before a federal recognition board next month to be approved as a 72D. I'll help as much as I can.

[jburnham77]

iObserve :

Is this a new MOS for you or do you have prior experience in military/civilian?
How long has your packet taken from the time you contacted the recruiter till this upcoming board?
What has your recruiter told you about the MOS; what will you be doing?
Will this actually be your MOS or are you slotting this MOS because your actual MOS has overflow?
What are the opportunities for furthering education/training?
Where are you going to be slotted?
Is there a current 72D where you are slotted? 1LT, CPT, MAJ, LtCol that you can train under/ask questions?

I apologize for "shotgunning" you with questions. I'm sure you can tell by the type of questions that the information that I have received is a little garbled and general.
Best of luck with the board and I appreciate any and all information.
Burnham

[iObserve]

Burnham,

Never apologize for being inquisitive ☺. I will be more than happy to answer your questions to the best of my ability, here goes...

Is this a new MOS for you or do you have prior experience in military/civilian?

I have a biomedical sciences master's degree in Industrial Hygiene (fancy way of saying a degree that encompasses public health, safety and health and a little engineering in my opinion). I worked in the field part time at my school for about three years while I pursued my master's degree. My experience includes areas like hazardous waste disposal, indoor air quality, noise exposure, mold exposure, lead exposure, occupational health and safety, and a nanoparticle thesis.

How long has your packet taken from the time you contacted the recruiter till this upcoming board?

I started the process in August 2011 I believe, should commission on 26th Jan 2012 by the grace of God.

What has your recruiter told you about the MOS; what will you be doing?

I really haven't asked my recruiter much about what the 72D AOC entails because that's not his job. The onus is on you to find out more as the professional. The AOC is a specialty so you have to possess a certain skill set to meet the requirements (i.e prior work in the field or educational background). If you don't meet that set standard then your recruiter will not board you. It depends on my gaining unit as per what I'll be doing, every unit has a specific mission and my preliminary assessment is that a 72D will fit into that mission from a safety standpoint. As you may already know, a 72D can do a plethora of things because the field is so diverse.

Will this actually be your MOS or are you slotting this MOS because your actual MOS has overflow?

Again this is a specialty so this is what I will be doing. In a deployed setting for example, I will most likely have to fit into the mission of my unit. I may be training enlisted soldiers in the same field on subjects ranging from "water safety" to "occupational hazards" or I could be "sampling lead" or sampling something else or supervising such activities.

What are the opportunities for furthering education/training?

There are a ton of opportunities in the field to further your education. I have a goal to get a PhD within the next 5 years but I am looking for the perfect fit program wise for me so I can improve soldiers’ lives down range. I bet the Army would be supportive of my goal.

Where are you going to be slotted?

I am joining the VA army national guard. I love the military and Virginia is family friendly...hopefully I get deployed ASAP so I can get out to Afghanistan and help.

Is there a current 72D where you are slotted? 1LT, CPT, MAJ, LtCol that you can train under/ask questions?

I am commissioning as a 1LT, but I am not sure if there are other 72D's. If not, I will definitely seek advice on how to better myself for my troops from the incumbent, my graduate program instructors with a wealth of experience and others around.


I will let you know how the board goes but feel free to ask more questions. I am willing to keep helping you even after I commission because helping people is the most rewarding thing in the world ☺. Take care.

[jburnham77]

iObserve:

Appreciate the information. Nice background. I am working towards a MS in Emergency and Disaster Management. I hope that fits the needs of the Army. Like you, I am eager to deploy and put the MOS to work overseas. I am just south of you in TN; who knows, we may do some work together. My package seems to be right in line with yours time wise. I think I am due for Federal this month. Do all 72Ds Direct Commission as a 1LT? Or does it depend on your background? 2LT, 1LT or CPT?
Burnham

[iObserve]

To my understanding, rank depends on education and job experience. A bachelor's degree equates to a 2LT. Master's; 1LT. PhD; CPT. My guess is that you will commission as a 2LT, good luck.

[PCTN]

I am a 72D in TNARNG, and I live in Virginia, how ironic lol! I commishioned as a LT in June 2011 and have performed quite a variety of duties. It all depends on what kind of unit you are assigned to. If you are assigned to a Med command, it will be mostly teaching/lab/hospital type setting. I am in a Med Company of a Cavalry Regiment. Our operations are field based. I have tested water supplies in the field, evaluated force protection threats (from an environmental aspect), taught land-nav courses (class room and field course), served as regimental advanced party to host installation during hurricane mobilization. In a combat arms unit you can do a lot more. I prefer to be out with the soldiers anyway. You will get to practice your craft more when you deploy, and at AT. I have small ammounts of micro equipment at my disposal (incubator, agars) when down range. Do you know what unit you are being slotted for?

[iObserve]

PCTN,

Can you share your board experience with me? what questions did they ask you? what happened when you were approved? Did they give you paperwork stating you were a commissioned officer right after the board concluded? and what rank did you commission as? What's your job title for the TNARNG? Lastly, what was your educational and job experience going into the board? Did you attend BOLC yet? How long was it? I know it's a ton of questions but I would really appreciate the information. We should stay in touch as well if you don't mind, I can learn a lot from your experience.

[tommyp]

Iobserve can u tell me what your b.s degree is in and your profesional experience. Have you been to any boards yet

[PCTN]

iObserve,
I commissioned as a 1LT with a BS in Biology w/ Chemistry minor and 2 years as a DOD civilian scientist. Without the work credit, would have been 2LT. BOLC is 24 days at FT. Sam Houston in San Antonio TX. You will have to take an online phase prior to attending. I was a prior enlisted NCO. I did not attend any in-person boards, mine were all paper. It took a few months (strength manager has to get all packet components to each board by date for review). My job title is 72D of my Company.

[iObserve]

Thanks PCTN. I go to the board next Thursday for approval. Tommyp I previously answered your questions but I will answer it again. I have a bachelor's in Allied Health science with a minor in chemistry and a master's degree in Industrial Hygiene. Are you a 72D Tommyp? and what's your educational background.

[iObserve]

Thanks PCTN. I go to the board next Thursday for approval. Tommyp I previously answered your question but I will answer it again. I have a bachelor's in Allied Health science with a minor in chemistry and a master's degree in Industrial Hygiene. Are you a 72D Tommyp? and what's your educational background.

[rat4spd]

The role of a 72D is more or less a Jack of all trades regarding personnel safety and health, and whatever else any other junior officer gets thrown their way. Whatever you expect, it will probably not be. Also, enlisted personnel have MOS's. 72D is an AOC.

[tcyr]

You might want to also look into your states CST (Civil Support Team) program. It is an AGR program that specializes in weapons of mass destruction response and identification. The NMSO (Nuclear Medicine Science Officer) slot is available to a couple of different AOCs, 72D being one of them. I just commissioned as a 72D in the Vermont National Guard. I am AGR and I am the Science Officer for the team. We have a mobile laboratory with 3.5 million dollars worth of equipment including GC/MS, M1M (basically ELISA), real time PCR, polarized light/fluorescence microscopy, and a class 3 glovebox. Its a great program and lots of growth and experience potential!

iObserve...have you had your USAREC board yet?? (Thats the board that you have to submit the awful 42 page life history for and all your transcripts etc.) There is a predetermination that happens before that board and they tell you what rank you will come in as. (You may already know this, so if this is old news, I apologize) I have a Masters degree in Biotechnology with a Biodefense concentration from Johns Hopkins and a bachelors degree in Applied Biology. I have 6 months of lab experience working in a biosafety level 3 lab with anthrax, plague, and other pathogenic bacteria. I also have 4-5 years of Emergency Medical Services experience. Despite all of that, I commissioned as a 2LT. (I just commissioned in December 2011). Also, when you go to your state board (also called the temporary fed rec board) it is more of a formality. The federal government has already deemed you qualified for a commission at the USAREC board. Because the National Guard has a state mission, they have to get their say too. This is the purpose of the temp fed rec board. While it is just a formality, you do still want to take it seriously. For my board they asked what my future goals were and how I was going to develop as an army officer etc.

Good luck with your board. I will check back frequently for any questions you or anyone might have for me.

-2LT Cyr
Science Officer, 15th CST (WMD)

[rat4spd]

2LT Cyr, consider your situation to be a very extreme exception. Getting an AGR slot is difficult enough for current Guard members, let alone commissioning into an AGR slot on the CST. I've never heard of that happening, but your state had the need and they found a way to fill it. I've also never heard of a delta filling an alpha slot either but congratulations on your commission.

A good friend of mine is a former member of the New Mexico CST. He's an alpha and consults with the Guard on training CST's. Maybe you'll meet him someday.

[tcyr]

I do consider my position to be an exception and consider myself to be very lucky. Because of the shortage of alphas in the guard and even those qualified to fill an alpha slot in the general population, there are additional AOCs that are acceptable to fill that slot. According to NGR 500-3 (the regulation governing the CST), the science officer slot can be filled by 72A, 72B, 72D, and 72E.

The former science officer on my team (also a 72D) came into his slot off the street, so it can be done if you have the credentials and experience to do so. Thanks for the congratulations!

[rat4spd]

Thanks for alerting me to that. I found the table you were referring to, and it does state that it's based on challenges of recruiting. I found it odd though that given the pub date of May 2011, and this is totally irrelevant, that they have still included the 72E AOC, as it no longer exists. All 72E's were re-designated as 72DN4, in the AMEDD book that is. Good luck with the training. You have a lot of it ahead of you.

[iObserve]

tcyr,

I was boarded and selected by the USAREC board. The gaining unit endorsed my 62E to be commission as a 1LT. I go before the Fed Rec board in two days- I am very nervous. I hope everything goes well. It's about 3 hrs to the board location so it would be a very disappointing drive back home with the family if I happen to be denied. Do you have any advice for me?

We should definitely keep in touch as I stand to learn a lot from your experience thus far. Who knows, we may end up in the same OBLC class.

How long did it take you to get your military I.D after commissioning? and were you commissioned right after your fed rec board?

[rat4spd]

Be natural at the Fed-Rec board. You'll do fine.

[tcyr]

Hi iObserve,

Im gonna second what rat4spd said. Just be yourself and you will be fine. Like I said earlier...the state board is more of a formality than anything else. I went into my board, it took maybe 15 minutes of questions and such. Mostly questions about my goals as an MSC officer and career progression. After my board was complete, I left the room for the board to talk. 5 or so minutes later they called me back in for an informal session. Here they told me that they were strongly recommending me for commission and gave me advice on career progression and such. Then after that, I left the room and my AMEDD manager took me to a flag, found an officer and read me my oath of office. At that point, I was technically an officer. Being that I was prior service, I wanted to have a ceremony with my unit, so I wore my old rank for close to a month until I had a ceremony and got pinned on.

As far as your ID goes, you could possibly get it the same day, depending on how your state works. Your packet does need to go to personnel after the board so they can cut orders for you. I am going to BOLC Feb. 16th, and I am doing the 3 week short course. It is my recommendation (and purely my opinion only) that you do the full 8 week course for the simple fact that you are not prior service and the 8 week course does a better job of preparing you for your military career. I am full time, so I have time constraints from my unit. Besides, San Antonio is a very fun place to be!

Check your private messages. I sent you my contact information and would be happy to help you out as much as you need/want.

[iObserve]

tcyr,

I was commissioned as a 2LT today. No 1LT for me :-(, I can't complain though- I'm super excited and thanks for the advice! Feels good to be a 72D, now I have to work diligently towards deploying ASAP. I would love to go for the 8 weeks course but I think that depends on my gaining unit. I don't think I have a say in that as they provide the funds to send me to OBLC...correct?