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AFSC 43H4, Staff
AFSC 43H3, Qualified
AFSC 43H1, Entry

Specialty Summary. Applies preventive and public health knowledge, techniques, and skills to reduce the incidence of communicable diseases, occupational illnesses, food borne disease, and disease nonbattle injuries. Promotes public health principles through surveillance of disease trends, food safety practices, and sanitation levels in public and food service facilities. Related DoD Occupational Group: 6H.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Develops, plans, and implements military public health activities. Conducts preventive medicine and communicable disease control, occupational health, food safety, and disaster response programs. Establishes and maintains liaison with medical treatment facility and local public health agencies to ensure an integrated public health program. Advises on military public health issues, manning, and training. Identifies required facilities and resources. Prepares regulations and operating instructions, acquires technical bulletins, and presents training to support military public health. Evaluates public health programs and recommends changes in policies and procedures. Supports Reserve and Guard component units to determine status of programs, including effectiveness and compliance with standards.

Initiates, directs, and conducts preventive medicine and communicable disease control programs. Applies epidemiological and statistical methods to identify and evaluate factors increasing disease morbidity and mortality. Collects and reviews beneficiary morbidity data to establish baseline data and identify trends. Compares data to local, state, and federal morbidity reports. Notifies the Chief of Aerospace Medicine about trends or outbreaks that may affect the Air Force population. Directs and conducts epidemiological investigations of communicable diseases and food borne disease outbreaks, and makes recommendations. Manages administrative aspects of tuberculosis and sexually transmitted disease detection and control programs. Contributes to the medical facility employee health program. Plans and develops disease vector surveillance program. Provides communicable disease education.

Directs and conducts food safety and public facility sanitation programs. Monitors food processing establishments, distributors, and storage facilities. Evaluates facilities, equipment, and sanitary practices to assess compliance with public health standards. Supervises inspection of government owned and retail sales food to determine identity, wholesomeness, and quality. Advises procurement, contracting, and accountable property officers on proper disposition of nonconforming and unwholesome food supplies. Collects food samples for laboratory analyses. Supervises and conducts medical evaluations of installation food serving facilities and personnel to ensure compliance with construction, equipment cleanliness, food handler hygiene and food storage, preparation, and serving standards. Supervises or conducts courses for food service personnel and facility managers to prevent food borne illnesses. Reviews and coordinates plans for renovation or construction of food serving facilities, commissaries, and warehouses. Inspects or supervises inspections of public facilities such as childcare centers, barber and beauty shops, and gymnasiums.

Maintains occupational health program. Establishes procedures to identify personnel requiring preplacement, periodic, and termination medical examinations. Participates in formulating occupational health examination requirements for workers at risk for hazardous exposures. Maintains close liaison with other agencies to develop procedures for prompt identification, investigation, evaluation, and reporting of occupational illnesses. Serves as technical advisor for planning and presenting occupational health education programs. Manages administrative aspects of the fetal protection program for active duty and civilian workers.

Directs public health efforts. Advises on issues relating to site selection, field sanitation, disease threats, physical threats such as heat and cold stress, vector and pest hazards, and contamination control procedures. Provides medical information to members deploying during exercises and contingencies. Monitors disease trends and advises on interventions. Monitors procurement, preparation, and handling of food supplies and training and hygiene of food handlers. Advises food service personnel on protection and disposition of food items subject to nuclear, biological, or chemical contamination, and effects of natural and other peacetime disasters. Directs contamination control procedures for patients, medical personnel, and medical equipment.

Specialty Qualifications:

Knowledge. Knowledge is mandatory of basic epidemiology, microbiology, food technology and hygiene, communicable diseases, and occupational health.

Education. For entry into this specialty, it is mandatory to possess a doctorate of veterinary medicine, public health, or epidemiology; or a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing with a Masters degree emphasizing public or community health, epidemiology, communicable disease, or occupational health; or not less than five years of relevant job experience in a public health field and a Bachelor of Science degree, Masters degree is desirable, in life science with direct application to public health, All degrees must emanate from academic institutions recognized by the Surgeon General, HQ USAF.

Training. For award of AFSC 43H3, completion of the public health officer course and advanced public health officer course is mandatory.

Experience. For award of AFSC 43H3, a minimum of 24 months of experience is mandatory in public health officer assignments.

Other. None.

Specialty Shredouts:

None

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Above Information Derived from AFMAN 36-2105