The advice and support you will be required to provide will be diverse and could incorporate any of the following areas:

• Operational EH planning
• EH intelligence development
• Health threat assessment
• Occupational hygiene assessments
• Operational hazmat
• Pest management and control processes
• Waste disposal for military operations
• Analysis of water quality
• Occupational health and safety
• Food safety assessment

In many situations you will work closely with other military medical personnel as part of a Medical Team which at times you will be called upon to lead. You will be required to provide advice and support in a number of areas including:

• Identifying measures to minimise Army manpower loss through preventable illness and non-battle injury during operations and training
• Monitoring of Army Environmental Health standards through inspections of all Army facilities
• Providing Environmental Health training and awareness to the NZ Army.
• Liaising with the Defence Health Intelligence Officer to prepare operational guidance notes which are task or mission specific.
• Providing as necessary Environmental Health expertise to assist in investigations and courts of enquiry that involve incidents of serious harm or death.
• Preparing and reviewing military and civilian documentation that relates to Environmental Health/Preventive Medicine matters.

You will conduct comprehensive health threat assessments, assist with setting up of field camps, provide specialist advice on field hygiene, waste and water management, pest and vector control and environmental and industrial hazards.

You will deploy in support of NZ Defence Force military operations and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief both within New Zealand and overseas. Deployment time frames are normally for weeks at a time, but may on rare occasions extend to a six month period.

In most cases FHPOs are required to carry out their duties to support the role of Force Health Protection with minimum supervision, although they may be co-located or working with environmental health personnel from the RNZAF or other overseas military forces.