News

Trainees from our Mountain & Plains Education and Research Center (MAP ERC) recently took an old-school field trip to Colorado Springs. After driving an hour and a half south of the CU Anschutz Medical Campus and trying to drive through the wrong base entrance, they arrived at the visitor’s center of Fort Carson Army Base.

Dr. Natalie Schwatka, program director for the Colorado School of Public Health’s Certificate in Total Worker Health® program, had long been awaiting the opportunity to take trainees on a safety tour of this post.

These types of practical, unique learning opportunities are available in abundance to MAP ERC trainees. Each of the center’s six occupational safety and health graduate programs place great importance on interdisciplinary education and first-hand experiences. Our programs prioritize helping students understand and encounter the roles they could have (or work closely with) after graduation.

Fort Carson has its own dedicated safety team lead by U.S. Army Garrison Safety Officer William J. Whitman, CSP. Whitman, a retired veteran, led the day-long tour, accompanied by various members of his safety team (many of whom were also retired veterans) including resident industrial hygienists, field safety officers, and health physics (radiation) specialists.

Many of the post’s safety hazards are present at the rail yard where soldiers load and unload heavy machinery such as tanks and High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (Humvees). Trainees witnessed a rare, but unique safety challenge where teams were working to safely restore the equipment to a derailed railcar.

Our group also spoke with field medics and contractors that dispose of the post’s hazardous waste materials and recycle discharged bullet shells and toured the coordinating facilities these individuals work in.

How to encourage a safety mindset

The most poignant question facing Fort Carson’s safety team is how to encourage a safety mindset in military individuals while on base after returning from a deployment. In many cases, soldiers are asked (and more than willing) to put their own safety on the line for the sake of their fellow soldiers or the sake of the mission while actively serving abroad. The challenge is to shift towards a safety mindset when they return home to maintain readiness.

Part of this challenge is how the mental health of military personal effects their safety choices and vice versa – how injury and illness affect mental health. MAP ERC trainees sifted through these complex issues with the Garrison Safety Team. Whitman and his team were each deeply concerned with “why” behind these safety questions, and their approach to work reflects that concern.

We want to extend a special thank you to Whitman and the Garrison Safety Team for their service, dedication to the safety and health of others, and thoughtfulness during our tour.

Interested in joining our program?

Visit our MAP ERC programs page to explore our different occupational health and safety degrees and certificates.


Written by Laura Veith, communications and media program manager for the Center for Health, Work & Environment.