Photo by Christina Mennella Mary Thomas

Q: As an industrial hygienist at Fort Myer what are your responsibilities and how do you like it?
A: I do safety and industrial hygiene, and a lot of training. I deal a lot with mold analyses. I go and do building inspections and tell the department of public works how to fix it. I love my job, because I get to deal with everybody: from management down. I find it very rewarding. It has been an experience. As with every job there are days that are frustrating, and others that are great. There are also days that offer valuable learning experiences. My good days by far outweigh my bad days.

Q: You recently returned from a temporary duty assignment in Iraq, how did you come to be stationed there and how did you like it?
A: I have worked here at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall as an industrial hygienist for three years. I applied online for an opportunity to deploy to Iraq with the Army Corps of Engineers. In Iraq, I worked in industrial hygiene and safety. Frequently, I worked with multinational force surgeons on medical surveillance. I really wanted to go to Iraq for the experience. I didn’t see the news [reports] as painting a clear picture of what was going on in Iraq, and I wanted to see for myself. The news wasn’t showing me anything positive like the power plants, the hospitals or the schools being built. All you heard about were the explosions. While I was working in Iraq, we turned over [to the community] two or three hospitals, several schools and a water treatment facility. I got to see all of that first-hand. I wanted to see where my tax dollars were going. I also wanted to experience what our Soldiers were going through in Iraq, so I could understand them better while I was working with them in the States. It was worth it. I liked it.

Q: How did you decide to become an industrial hygienist?
A: I was working on a master’s degree in organic chemistry, and my dad is an industrial hygienist at West Point Military Academy. I fell in to an internship opportunity where I had the chemistry and science background. I was accepted as an intern in Vicksburg, Mississippi. for two years and three months. I came up here to the Washington Aqueduct, and then, I moved to Fort Myer.

Q: Where did you go to college?
A: I went to Blue Mountain College and got a duel degree in biology and chemistry. I got a master’s of science degree from Texas A&M University in industrial technology.

Q: Can you describe the job responsibilities of an industrial hygienist in Iraq?
A: In layman’s terms what I do is deal with biological, chemical, and physical hazards in the workplace: mold, asbestos, radiation, noise, lasers, airborne particles like dust, ventilation systems, air quality. I’m also duel trained in safety. While I was in Iraq I worked on a formaldehyde study using container housing units. I had to tell people how to air out trailers when it was burning their eyes or causing sore, throats, and how to air the units out and get rid of the smell.

Q: How does that differ from what you do at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall?
A: I was in Baghdad, but it wasn’t exactly a war zone. We heard the helicopters fly over, and we were given daily slide presentations of where the Iraqi explosions hit. We could hear the explosions. We would hear a voice come on the public address system, and yell out: lock down, lock down, lock down. I grew up in the Philippines which was a war-zone environment, so it didn’t bother me that everyone had a gun and someone was pointing it at you on a consistent basis. It was something I was used to. I grew up living on military installations. I was very blessed I didn’t feel like I was in real danger. The rules kept changing. There were nervous moments but I never felt unsafe.

Q: What did you take away with you from your experience in Iraq?
A: In Baghdad I really felt a sense of Family, America, self and how I was accomplishing something important. I worked side-by-side with local nationals, and I got to learn a lot about the culture. It was really neat to get to learn their perspective. It wasn’t just Muslims, there were Christians as well. I learned some of the language. If you’re racist, or biased towards a particular person or situation because of their color or religion, you miss out on learning from that person. Judgment is not something you should do lightly. I am definitely someone who believes in learning experiences. I didn’t get the big story firsthand by being in Iraq.