The field sanitation team is the first line of preventative medicine in the army, and each unit has two to three soldiers that are trained as field sanitation team members. These teams are equipped with the knowledge of how to check water for chemicals, how to confirm the condition of eating facilities and how to review for any potential hazards. This team helps to ensure safety for the entire unit.

As part of the field sanitation team training, Pfaff will be educating soldiers on the natural behaviors of venomous snakes along with how to spot and avoid them in the wild. He will also dispel myths that are often associated with dangerous reptiles.

In order to demonstrate these behaviors and give the soldiers a clear visual to identify with, Pfaff will bring with him many of the venomous snakes that are housed at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden.

“It is necessary to understand the behaviors of venomous snakes in order to know how to react if you come in contact with one,” said Pfaff. “There is no better way to learn then firsthand, and I am happy to help educate the soldiers in any way that I can.”

Some of the snakes that will accompany Pfaff will be snakes that soldiers may come across locally, such as rattlesnakes and cottonmouths, along with snakes such as puff adders, spitting cobras, gaboon vipers and eyelash vipers, which they may encounter overseas.

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*Note:               To cover this event, please make prior arrangements with Nichole Riley at Fort Jackson. The day of the event media must arrive at Gate 2 at Fort Jackson at 8:30am. To set up an interview with Scott Pfaff, please contact Lindsay Burke at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden.