Education in the United States Air Force

The United States Air Force (USAF) employs roughly 680,000 uniformed personnel engaged in missions ranging from combat to routine office work around the world. Recognizing that disease and non-battle injuries still cause the majority of casualties, the USAF has approximately 1,200 occupational hygienists (OHs) at the enlisted and officer level assigned at almost all locations. While many of the USAF tasks are typical civilian administrative and industrial operations, there are some that are military unique. Also, many airmen are in deployed settings where only uniformed hygienists are allowed to go. Therefore, the USAF has for many years provided education and training to the OHs to equip them for the challenges at hand. The USAF provides this comprehensive education and training system based on the instructional system development process. Four months of initial entry training at the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine is followed by short courses, upgrade on-the-job training, response exercises, and, since 2002, military graduate school. The career development plan lays out the depth of knowledge and task proficiency required a