Emergency manager earns DOD certification

Roseanne Peterson, Base Operations Support emergency manager, conducts an inspection on an M-50 chemical mask prior to the start of the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear class Jan. 9, 2015, at the civil engineering compound, Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. Peterson was recently awarded the Defense Department certification in the emergency management field. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kemberly Groue)

Emergency manager earns DOD certification

Roseanne Peterson, Base Operations Support emergency manager, logs information on an M-8 chemical agent detection paper prior to the start of the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear class Jan. 9, 2015, at the civil engineering compound, Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. Peterson was recently awarded the Defense Department certification in the emergency management field. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kemberly Groue)

Emergency manager earns DOD certification

Published Jan. 9, 2015
By Susan Griggs
81st Training Wing Public Affairs

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Roseanne Peterson, a Keesler emergency manager with the base operations support team, has been awarded Defense Department certification in the emergency management field.

Peterson, who's held her current position for 4.5 years, was an emergency manager with the 403rd Wing until her military retirement and is also certified in homeland security. She was deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom in emergency management where she worked the battle staff position and did reconnaissance.

"I have always loved this job," said Peterson, who's been involved in the emergency management career field for 30 years. "Not everyone is fortunate to be working in an area where they were meant to be."

She holds a Community College of the Air Force associate degree in emergency management, a bachelor's degree in training and education from the University of Wisconsin-Superior and a master's degree in business from the University of South Dakota at Ellsworth Air Force Base.

"The base paid the university for a set of seats in the master's program," she explained. "Anyone who was a responder and subject to 24-hour recall was eligible. That meant I didn't pay a penny for my master's degree - I love programs like that."

Peterson also serves as a volunteer firefighter with the Fort Bayou Fire Department and is an officer on the Jackson County Search and Rescue Team.