BSC celebrates 52nd year of diverse care

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Daniel Snider
  • 23d Wing Public Affairs

The commissioned and enlisted members of the Biomedical Science Corps, here, are recognizing and celebrating their diversity and impact to the mission, here, during BSC Appreciation Week, Jan. 23-27.

The BSC is a collection of 2,400 officers in 15 different medical specializations, supported by 5,800 enlisted members Air Force wide. These medical careers combined when a special order was signed by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Jan. 28, 1965. That day, the BSC became the most diverse recognized corps in the Air Force medical services, dedicated to providing specialized trusted medical care to Airmen and their families. 

There are 24 members of the BSC at Moody who are spread throughout the 93d Air Ground Operations Wing, 23d Medical Group and the 38th Rescue Squadron.

“The unofficial term is, ‘we’re the cats and dogs of the Air Force, but without these people, our folks are not medically ready,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Charnell Smith, 23d Medical Operations Squadron mental health flight commander and Moody Air Force Base’s BSC executive. “If you look at [Col. Thomas Kunkel, 23d Wing commander] and our wing’s vision, the first one is to deploy skilled warriors. They can’t deploy if they’re not medically fit to deploy, so all of us have a piece in that component.”

When deploying or in-or-out- processing, it’s likely Airmen will see many of these professionals for exams and briefings. The BSC includes careers like optometry, entomology, pharmacy, nutrition and physical therapy to name a few.

 “I’m designated by the [23d Medical Group] commander to support and serve as a resource to the BSC officers,” said Smith. “I keep them informed on all BSC related issues, and what’s going on in the world of the BSC because we all promote together.”

Smith explained how difficult the promotion process can be when comparing the accomplishments of apples versus oranges, or mental health versus bioenvironmental engineers. While the diversity of duties creates some challenges, it also showcases the BSC’s capabilities.

“[As BSC,] we encompass many sides of the medical field,” said 2nd Lt. Eric Olson, 23d Aerospace Medicine Squadron bioenvironmental engineer.  “We’re not just seeing sick people, but we’re preventing them from getting sick. Then when they are sick, the physicians assistants see the patients, and physical therapy actually brings people back after they’ve been hurt. So it’s almost like a full cycle I would say.”

Airman 1st Class Chase Young, 23d Aerospace Medicine Squadron bioenvironmental technician, expressed his pride in taking a moment to recognize his team’s contribution to the mission.

“A lot of these are thankless jobs,” said Young. “You really don’t hear about us unless something goes wrong and I think that we do a pretty good job of encompassing that ‘healthy’, fit force that we’re trying to maintain.”

Smith echoed Young’s pride and confidence in the members of the BSC.

 “This week helps us put a spotlight on how diverse we are and it helps to unify us and show our accomplishments,” said Smith. “We have such an impact in so many different ways across the mission.

 “We are unified in our diversity,” Smith added.

Events

Today 
FebruaryMarch 2024April
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
25
26
27
28
29
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6