Explosives safety professionals must provide oversight to operations and activities where ammunition and explosives are stored and handled. They assess these operations and the associated processes, and develop procedures to minimize and control risks. They analyze and resolve diverse critical safety hazards that involve inherently dangerous materials. The work is usually performed at a variety of locations, such as ammunition and explosives storage sites, manufacturing facilities, military training ranges, demilitarization sites, ports, and railheads. Explosives safety professionals must know general safety, health, industrial, tactical, construction, and fire protection regulations that apply to a broad field of operations. Explosives safety personnel may deploy.
These safety managers must prepare recommendations and advise commanders and managers of the best means for complying with standards and reducing hazards to ensure a safe work environment for soldiers and civilian employees. Since they interact with employees, supervisors, managers, as well as Federal (OSHA/EPA), State, and other authorities, safety personnel need to effectively communicate at all levels.
Within the Army, organizations that employ explosives safety personnel include U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC); U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM), U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR), U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), U.S. Army Forces - Afghanistan (USFOR-A) and/or Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).