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Reservist keeps critters in check in Horn of Africa

  • Published
  • By Dan Neely
  • 919th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
DUKE FIELD, Fla. --  Most people tend to avoid encounters with dangerous insects, spiders and snakes. Master Sgt. Jennifer Alexander lives for them.

The Duke Field reservist is currently deployed as pest manager supporting U.S. Africa Command operations at a forward operating base in the Horn of Africa region. 

"My personal mission, aside from my normal duties, is helping the people appreciate their own natural wonders," Alexander said. "The local populace is not concerned with their own wildlife, so I'm fortunate to be able to teach them a bit about the benefits they offer."

The "normal duties" to which she refers typically range from trapping and relocating small mammals into the wild to eradicating dangerous reptiles and insects. In one case, host national military officials called on her to remove a large black mamba, one of the world's most venomous vipers, from a tree next to one of their guard shacks.

"The locals were throwing rocks and sticks at it, trying to get it down," the 919th Civil Engineer Squadron reservist said. "I tried climbing the tree to get it, but since it was too high we decided to get a man lift to go above the tree. I had a pair of snake tongs that I used to grab the snake from above, but it kept wrapping its tail around the branches, so I wasn't able to get a hold of it very well.

"After about 30 minutes of grabbing it with the tongs, the snake left the tree and went to the ground where the locals started beating it with sticks, Alexander continued. "I managed to get to it before they beat it too badly for proper identification."

After allowing locals to photograph the now-expired mamba, Alexander seized the moment to briefly educate them on it and other reptiles before returning it to them for disposal.

"I now have locals bringing me wildlife that they've found, and instead of killing them, which is a normal practice, they want to learn about them," she said. "It's amazing to see grown men who have killed chameleons their entire lives, which are harmless and eat insects, realize that the lizards are not dangerous and that they can actually be very cool."

Fortunately, the reservist said she spends most of her time capturing and relocating non-poisonous animals -- Tanzanian house snakes, sooty house snakes, mole snakes, and giant centipede-eating snakes, to name a few. Then there are the lizards -- Nile monitor lizards, chameleons and agamas.

"I capture all of those animals using my hands since they are not dangerous," Alexander said. "Gloves and snake sticks get in the way of being able to hold the animal securely."

But then there are the bees - African killer bees, to be precise.

"Bee swarms are our most dangerous issue and they are extremely common," Alexander said. "They try to nest inside our aircraft, boxes, tents and pretty much anything they can get into.

"I don't have a bee suit or proper chemicals, so I had to make one using a bed net," she continued. "I vacuum the bees after I spray them with rubbing alcohol. It does work, and so far I haven't been stung. And yes, since they are African bees, they can be very aggressive when they are in a hive. The swarms are less aggressive, but I do have to be careful."

Despite tackling numerous wildlife incursions, the newly promoted senior NCO reports a full plate of other responsibilities are making the days fly by in her six-month deployment. Also serving as her squadron's NCO in charge of civil engineering, she supervises four military members from different CE specialties.

"Each day we face different challenges, none of which I could really prepare for," Alexander said. "Since there is only one person per career field, we all help each other with projects, so I have become an electrician, generator operator, structural repairman, and a (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) technician, as well as honing my management skills as a senior NCO."

In her free time, Alexander continues to join her fellow squadron members in benefiting their host nation community with an exhaustive list of volunteer projects. A sample of these includes efforts to provide thousands of books to a local library, heavily renovating a kindergarten and installing ventilation in a local prison.

"Each day I learn something new about the deployed environment, as well as about myself," the Airman said. "Since this is my first deployment, I'm lucky to have gotten such a great assignment. A deployed environment takes some getting used to, but without my dedicated crew I don't know if I could have risen to the challenge."