By Robert Johnson
Managing editor
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“It’s a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.” We’ve all heard that line at some point in our lives, and usually the “somebody” that is about to do that dirty job is you. This week, the GUIDON staff went out and found those dirty jobs on the installation that thankfully, we don’t have to do.

There are a myriad of thankless tasks and missions on this installation. From the Soldier scouring the roadside looking for litter in 90-degree heat, to the firefighter who serves as the cook for his shift, we all know of some task that never gets praise or recognition.

Still, these tasks are not truly the ones that make us cringe. Try your hand at the waste water treatment plant, don a protective HAZMAT suit, wade into muddy water to recover a vehicle, or sink your hands into a bucket of grease while repacking wheel bearings — these are the incredibly nasty jobs that most of us take for granted.

But it’s these same jobs that are incredibly important to all of us. We expect vehicles to run; we expect to be protected from hazardous waste, and we expect to have the toilets work. The thought of these things not operating as planned can be apocalyptic.

This week the GUIDON staff salutes those taking care of the business that most of us would shudder at the thought of undertaking.

Of course, the stories this week are but a sampling of the incredibly nasty jobs on the installation that are routinely handled by Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, civilians and contractors on a daily basis. We could feature a nasty job each week and not run out of story ideas for quite some time. Jobs like medical waste disposal, asphalt repair (try that occupation when the temperature soars above 100 degrees) or explosive ordnance disposal are just a few that could keep us going for many, many issues. Even the guy that cleans out the grease trap in the dining facilities has our highest respect.

It’s easy for us to sit back and cringe and make comments; after all, we are journalists. Our job isn’t about reporting the gory details, but to convey the magnitude and difficulty of those respected professions.

As journalists, we are often called upon to visit an organization and witness a process that we know nothing about, and yet come back and convey that same scene into words so that the average person can gain the same sense of being there that we have experienced. I hope you, as a reader, feel that we have been able to do that with these articles this week.

Take time and read our Dirty Jobs stories. If nothing else, they should make you appreciate the job you currently have.

It is a dirty job … and be thankful someone is doing it.