Making a clean start

Warrant Officer Greg Harrington ensures mosquito levels are minimised around the amenities. Photo by FLTLT Christine Bradley

By FLTLT Christine Bradley

When the Air Traffic Control Detachment touched down in Baghdad, years of dilapidation became immediately apparent.

There was no sewerage system and no running water. The basic sanitation facilities had to be established – and fast.

Simple things such as somewhere to wash hands, along with a basic toilet and sewerage system, are essential to prevent disease outbreaks and keep a force on its feet.

This is where the work of Greg Harrington, the Environmental Health Warrant Officer with the unit, affectionately known as “The Ratcatcher”, played a key role.

From the moment the group arrived WOFF Harrington worked frenetically to ensure a basic system of preventative health measures was set up within two to three days.

“The first thing we had to get under control was the fly situation,” he said. “There were a few cases of gastro among some of the other forces when we first got here, but we moved quickly and stopped this from becoming a real problem.”

A sit-down toilet, hand-washing area and bush shower might seem basic, but personnel at Baghdad International Airport appreciate these simple amenities.

“These facilities not only keep people healthy, they give people a bit more privacy and dignity,” WOFF Harrington said.

Establishing sanitation facilities and controlling flies and mosquitoes forms one part of his work. The other side is keeping people on their toes.

“When you disrupt a person’s normal routine, or they become extremely busy, or even when they become bored and complacent, they can forget about field hygiene – which would be easy to do here in Baghdad. Part of my job is to
make sure that everyone keeps their own health a priority,” he said.

With a group as small as the Air Traffic Control Detachment, there is little fat to spare with manning and widespread illness could be potentially crippling, which only multiplies the importance of the Environmental Health Officer.

While WOFF Harrington has been instrumental in keeping the detachment fit and well, he is quick to point out that everyone has lent a hand in the effort, from digging pits, to clearing rubbish, to setting up tents and building outdoor shower cubicles.

WOFF Harrington has accomplished a lot in the short time that he has been in Baghdad, according to the Commanding Officer of the Detachment, Wing Commander Ian Browning.

“The public health of our small unit is vitally important to air traffic control services at Baghdad International,” WGCDR Browning said. “WOFF Harrington’s single-mindedness in this regard has been a deciding factor in ensuring there has been no sickness in the unit.”

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