How These Scientists Are Like Google to Soldiers

Within the Army, there's a small group of civilian scientists who are hard at work protecting soldiers by analyzing soil, water and air samples to identify what they are and determine if they're dangerous.  

These civilians work for the Army's 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives Command in the CBRNE Analytical and Remediation Activity — known as CARA. And while a lot of these experts are men, more and more women are joining their ranks.

Four of these female scientists are rising stars at CARA, where they're bringing their youthful exuberance and knowledge to the laboratory. One thing they all have in common: Nearly all of them have loved science, tech, engineering and math — STEM — from a young age.

"I'm one of those weirdos who has always loved science," said Courtney Aceto, 27, who joined the CARA team in April 2022. "At 4 years old, I had this toy microscope, and I was in the backyard with dirt and bugs." 

"I've always been analytical. I always want to know how it happened, where it started, and what's the final result," said Jessica Caldwell, 29, who has been with CARA since 2018. "When I was a teenager watching 'Forensic Files' and 'CSI,' I thought, 'That's what I want to do. That makes sense.'" 

DNA, Toxic Air and 'Playing With Scary Dirt' 

Prior to CARA, Caldwell spent two years at the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command's Chemical Biological Center. While she's been a chemist in both roles, she said the jobs themselves are very different. 

"[The CCDC-CBC] is more research focused, where they're doing the work for the customer. There, you're just trying to think about what a soldier needs," Caldwell explained. "[At CARA] we work moreso alongside the soldiers. Soldiers are out in the field, and they send us samples. We're serving as their confirmation – as their theater validation — of what the sample is or is not." 

Part of the CARA team's job is also to train soldiers on how to better prepare those samples. 

"We need insight from them," Caldwell continued. "Our samples are completely unknown, but there is some information you can tell us, like where you found it, when you found it, what it looks like, or if there were any odors. Any information at all is helpful."  

From there, they jump into full analysis mode. Working in pairs for safety — and because two sets of eyes is better than one – they use several instruments to analyze the samples' chemical and biological components to determine what the substance is. In essence, it's kind of like the CARA team is a type of Google for soldiers.  

"We first screen for items on the federal Select Agents and Toxins List," Aceto said. She explained that the screening panel tests for many well-known substances, such as Ebola, Botulinum toxin or the bacteria that causes plague. "If a sample pops positive, further analysis can be expedited because we know what we're looking for." 

If that screening panel doesn't identify the sample, however, further testing is needed.  

"If a sample doesn't pop positive on any of our screening tests, we move on to both DNA sequencing and in-depth toxin analysis," Aceto said. "The DNA sequencing results are compared against a global database of known sequences, and within a few hours, we know exactly what we're looking at." 

As a microbiologist, Aceto said the DNA sequencing process isn't harder, perse – it just requires different skills.  

"With the DNA sequencing, you have to do a lot more on the analysis side, which just takes more computing," she said. "It's just a little more time consuming." 

She said it's satisfying when they do find an answer. 

"It's scarier to people when you don't know, and so to be able to bring confidence to an answer is [rewarding]," Aceto said. "The wild part about biology — especially with some of these viruses and bacteria — is they're constantly evolving and changing."  

Then there are the potential toxic chemicals in the air, which are the focus of CARA's air monitors, including 23-year-old Paige Smith. Smith and her fellow air monitors set their gear up at remediation operations and during emergency responses for suspected chemical warfare materials to make sure that whatever is being retrieved isn't leaking or causing hazardous or environmental issues. 

When the team is out in the field in its mobile labs, Smith mostly works on miniature chemical air monitoring systems, aptly called MINICAMS, that are outfitted in the motor pool's trucks.  

"It's this little box, and it has all the components of a gas chromatography system," Smith said. The MINICAMS is connected to a line that's basically a long hose that pulls air through it. "They have a mechanism inside the tubing that heats it up, so anything that's in the air that gets pulled through the line vaporizes so, by the time it reaches the MINICAMS, it can be analyzed." 

"We can monitor from a safe distance away, so no one has to be out there actually working in a possibly contaminated area," Smith continued.   

Always Training and Refining 

When the team isn't doing sample analysis, their day-to-day is based on readiness.  

"Making sure that, in the case that we have to deploy or go to an exercise or respond to anything, all of our systems are ready to go – our vehicles, our instruments, our platforms," Caldwell said. "There's a lot of maintaining." 

She said the team is also consistently doing method development, which means coming up with new ways to refine their work. For example, it's always better to get a 98% match on a sample than only, say, a 50% match.  

"You can get a result, but it can be a poor result," Caldwell said. "You want your result to be strong." 

The team also does a lot of training.   

"For the last several months, we've been running tests in the mobile lab," Aceto said. "We were out there every day running samples in a practice setting, as if we were being given samples from the field guys, to run through the entire span of testing." 

"We're all civilians and we're all stepping into this military world, so the whole first year you're here, it's basically training," Smith said.  

Job Perks: Deployment 

Unlike a lot of chemistry and microbiology jobs, there is the chance for travel — something these young team members are looking forward to. The job calls for deployments that include packing up the labs and equipment, then doing the actual analysis overseas while out in the field.  

"We have to build our equipment — we erect it from the ground up," Aceto said of that process. "So, you get your hands dirty." 

"I don't think that anyone would have told me five years ago that I would know how to tear apart an instrument and put it back together, or better yet, do full preventative maintenance on a military vehicle," Caldwell said. "To be able to do all of that … is insane to me."  

Aceto and Smith haven't deployed yet, but Caldwell went to Kuwait when she first started at CARA to help pack up a mobile lab to return home. She said she's definitely looking forward to more opportunities.  

"It puts your actual knowledge to real use. You're going to help somebody on the other side," Caldwell said.  

Chemist Grace Bultron, 30, has only been with CARA since October but has already traveled to Fort Bliss and Fort Cavazos, Texas, to help with exercises there.  

"I had the opportunity to see how it is to work outside with the military and my peers," Bultron said. "I was able to see how they work in sample management. That helped me to have a better perspective about the processes that samples undergo before coming into my hands." 

 

It's A Team Effort 

Bultron previously worked for environmental and pharmaceutical companies in her native Puerto Rico. As a Spanish speaker who's still getting used to English as a second language, she said she was a bit scared to take a job in the military sector, but she still took the leap. 

"I saw the opportunity to grow personally and professionally," she said. "I knew that here, I would be learning a lot of new things." 

Both she and Smith have said that, so far, the team has been great. 

"Anytime I've had doubts or anything, they've been very helpful," Bultron said. "I've really learned a lot. It's been a good experience." 

"I feel like I know what I'm doing, and they know I know what I'm doing," Smith said. "But I know that if I do come to a roadblock, there's always somebody who's like, 'What do you need? How can I help?' Which is awesome." 

Smith said her job is much different than many of the others she interviewed for in the private sector – jobs that often make for-profit products.  

"I have friends who work in pharmaceuticals, and I know that they love it," Smith said. "Knowing we're not just here to make a product but, at the end of the day, hopefully saving lives — that is definitely the most exciting part."