Environmental Health Officer Professional Advisory Committee

Qualifying Degrees

Qualifying degrees (PDF: 24 KB, 7 pages) for receiving a Commission as an Environmental Health Officer.

Life cycle of an Application

The following chart describes the life cycle of an application from pre-screening to Call to Active Duty.

Life cycle of an application (PDF: 123 KB, 1 page).

JRCOSTEP Information

Each year, the EHO Category hires approximately 25-35 students for summer Junior Commissioned Officer Student Training and Extern Program (JRCOSTEP) positions. Most positions are with the Indian Health Service (IHS) in many different areas of the United States, including Alaska. Other agencies that typically hire one or two JRCOSTEPs per summer are: ATSDR, CDC, Coast Guard, and the National Park Service. The EHO category typically has 70-100 applicants for these positions; therefore, all positions are competitive. Most are undergraduate level, but there are several graduate students placed each year.

Below are narratives of JRCOSTEP experiences from students who participated in the program during the summer of 2010.  These students were assigned to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United States Coast Guard (USCG).  For more information on student experiences with the Indian Health Service (IHS) please visit the Division of Environmental Health Services website.

• ENS Sarah Safari - USCG (PDF: 160 KB, 2 pages)

2009 Student Narratives

• ENS Ray Carter - USCG (PDF: 40 KB, 1 page)
• ENS Megan Crawley, ATSDR  (PDF: 4 KB, 1 page)
• ENS Michael Dirks, ATSDR  (PDF: 191 KB, 1 page)
• ENS Janelle Zindroski, ATSDR (PDF: 40 KB, 1 page)
• ENS Alan Goggins, CDC (PDF: 55 KB, 2 pages)
• ENS Samantha Kantrowitz, CDC (PDF: 151 KB, 2 pages)

For more information on student opportunities visit the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) website.

• Tips for JRCOSTEPS (Nov 2011 edition) (PDF: 38 kb, 2 pages)

Environmental Health Intern at the CDC

Alex Hawley completes ORISE Internship with the CDC - Narrative  (PDF: 66 KB, 1 page)