YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- Capt. Kevin Young, Chief of Public Health Operations, and Staff Sgt. Nick Warner, 374th Aerospace Medicine Squadron NCO in charge of food and sanitation element, check food expiration dates in the Yokota Commissary Jan. 8, 2013. Public Health inspects food and base facilities monthly to ensure the community remains healthy and free of possible disease outbreaks. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cody H. Ramirez)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- Staff Sgt. Nick Warner, 374th Aerospace Medicine Squadron Public Health NCO in charge of food and sanitation element, measures the temperature of milk and checks their expiration dates Jan. 8, 2013, at the Yokota Commissary to ensure proper storage and removal if necessary. Warner assisted Public Health in conducting 290 inspections during 2012. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cody H. Ramirez)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- Senior Airman Roland Tyler, 374th Aerospace Medicine Squadron Public Health food and sanitation journeyman, checks the chlorine level of a cleaning bucket Jan. 8, 2013, during a facility health inspection. If cleaning solution does not have the proper amount of chlorine, then germs are spread rather than killed. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cody H. Ramirez)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- Staff Sgt. Nick Warner, 374th Aerospace Medicine Squadron NCO in charge of food inspection shop, displays a strip freshly dipped into a cleaning bucket at the Yokota Commissary Jan. 8, 2013. The proper amount of chlorine is anywhere between 50 and 100 micro levels. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cody H. Ramirez)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- A team of 374th Aerospace Medicine Squadron Public Health food and sanitation Airmen check the temperature of deli meat for sale at the Yokota Commissary Jan. 8, 2013. Public Health ensures the food products available to the Yokota community are handled with care and those handling them follow a strict health code. (U.S. Air Force photo Senior Airman Cody H. Ramirez)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- Senior Airman Roland Tyler, 374th Aerospace Medicine Squadron Public Health food and sanitation journeyman, reviews a checklist Jan. 8, 2013, while inspecting the Yokota Commissary deli and bakery. Inspections are conducted monthly by Public Health to ensure all facilities on base, especially those serving food, follow strict health regulations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cody H. Ramirez)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- Staff Sgt. Nick Warner, 374th Aerospace Medicine Squadron NCO in charge of food and sanitation element, annotates inspected items at the commissary Jan. 8, 2013, during a food and facility inspection. The food inspectors check food for current expiration dates, food storage temperatures, chlorine levels in cleaning buckets and examine floors for possible insects or signs of rodents. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cody H. Ramirez)
by Senior Airman Cody H. Ramirez
374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
1/22/2013 - YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan. -- When it comes to illness prevention, Public Health is the filter between health and sickness.
The 374th Aerospace Medicine Squadron Public Health flight is responsible for observing, controlling and containing possible disease outbreaks at Yokota Air Base, Japan.
It maintains this control by working closely with local health departments in Japan to ensure Yokota is not part of a disease problem in the larger community, said Capt. Kevin Young, Public Health flight chief.
"The local populace is our population, so anything happening either on or off base affects the other," Young said.
Information is shared between Yokota and the off base public health departments, along with reports about possible disease being spread nearby.
"Not that people should live in a bubble or avoid traveling off base, but it only takes one person going off base, getting a virus and hosting it back to base for the disease to infect more service members and families," Young said. "This is why our proactive approach at preventative health is so important."
If a person is coded for disease conditions or the clinic receives a positive in the lab, public health is notified to analyze trends to see if anything is spreading or if there is a potential health threat to the area, Young added.
Keeping the community safe requires more than information coordination. Public health also works hand-in-hand with the 374th Force Support Squadron and Army and Air Force Exchange Service on base to prevent disease, according to Staff Sgt. Nick Warner, 374 AMDS NCO in charge of food and sanitation element.
"We check the safety and health of food in the base facilities," Warner said. "We are all about being proactive."
Public health keeps their eyes on anything that may lead to a mass amount of people getting sick. The inspectors check food expiration dates, storage procedures, cleaning solutions and for possible rodent problems to ensure sanitation in facilities supporting base services.
"Picture the worst case scenario," Warner added. "You walk into a facility and it has grease and grime everywhere, dead insect bodies laying around, add expired food to the mix, bags of dough with rat feces and bite marks. It's exaggerated, but this scene is what we prevent."
Public health also works in the clinic.
"We are the central point of contact for medically clearing service members to deploy or permanently change station and informing them how to stay healthy," Young said.
Public health does what it can to keep Yokota Airmen safe and healthy, whether it is by coordinating current disease information with off base public health offices, conducting food and sanitation inspections or reviewing clinic paper work to ensure a member is healthy before deploying to defend our country.
