Pest management is serious business at any base

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jason Lake
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  Keeping pests under control at an Air Force base is a serious business no matter where that base may be.

Senior Master Sgt. Burhl Hartin, a pest management specialist from the 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, recalls an incident at his home unit, the 125th Fighter Wing in Jacksonville, Fla.

“One time we had an F-16 (Fighting Falcon) hit a wild pig that ran across the flightline,” he said. “(The impact) sent the plane off the runway and into the woods. The pilot survived the accident, but the plane wasn’t so lucky.”

Although wild pigs are not much of a threat to aviators here, Sergeant Hartin said there are other animals that pose a threat to pilots as well as other base residents.

One of the most deadly threats to pilots locally is birds inhabiting a pond near the flightline, said Sergeant Hartin, a 15-year pest control veteran.

Even though most birds do not weigh more than a few pounds, they are still capable of taking down an aircraft if ingested into a jet intake or rotary blade.

“Bird hazards have existed since the beginning of air travel and can cause a considerable amount of damage and occasional loss of human life,” said Master Sgt. William Ellis, the 332nd Expeditionary Operation Support Squadron airfield manager. “To reduce the number of bird strike occurrences, it is imperative for pilots to be aware of the possibility and seriousness of bird strikes.”

To combat the threat, Sergeant Hartin and his partner, Senior Airman Staci Barratt, closely monitor the area surrounding the flightline and document the flight patterns and flock activity of the different species of birds. The documents are then forwarded to experts at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington and the Air Force Safety Center at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.

There are more than 400 different species of birds in Iraq, according to Airman Barratt, who is deployed here from the 177th Fighter Wing in Atlantic City, N.J. Currently, she has counted more than 20 species of birds since she arrived here in May. The first species she noticed after arriving here was the Indian Roller.

“There is one pair (of Rollers) that always hang on the same tree branch out here,” Airman Barratt explained as she scanned the pond with her binoculars. She has ran into the “couple” so often that she decided to give the pair names. “I named them Betsy and Bert.”

If Betsy, Bert, or any other birds endanger the lives of pilots, Sergeant Hartin said the team uses different types of tactics to scare the birds away. The most common tactic is the “shotgun scare-away gun,” that just makes a loud noise.

“Our aim is to protect the flightline but also do our best to protect the birds as well,” Sergeant Hartin explained.

Besides monitoring birds around Balad, the duo also helps keep other pests under control.

Sergeant Hartin said the two also check the area for mosquito larvae and signs of wild dogs and cats. They also respond to “sightings” from people around the base.

On one occasion, Sergeant Hartin remembers getting a call from someone in the headquarters building about bats in the ceiling.

“I had to pull bats out from above the ceiling panel using makeshift chopsticks,” he said with a laugh.

In another instance, Sergeant Hartin got called out to investigate reports of a white owl residing in a hangar.

Regardless of the situation, the former canine handler said the goal is to relocate the animal with a minimal amount of force.

If we can do it in a less harmful way, we do it,” he said. “It isn’t beneficial for us to kill (wildlife), so we try to keep everything in (its) place.”