Maxwell celebrates BSC week Published Feb. 4, 2014 By Airman 1st Class William Blankenship 42nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- The second annual Biomedical Sciences Corps Appreciation Week was celebrated at Maxwell Jan. 27-31. Despite the base closing for part of the week due to a winter storm, the week gave BSC members serving here an opportunity to be recognized and build continuity amongst corps representatives. Breakfasts, Zumba classes, luncheons and bowling outings provided a chance for members of the distantly related career fields to mingle. "Because we are so diverse, this week gives us time together where we can learn how to support our troops better by utilizing everyone's abilities," said 1st Lt. Phillip Mailloux, 42nd Medical Group public health officer. "Our job is to keep the guys in the fight. The more the entire BSC works together, the better we can do that." The BSC is made up of 15 different career fields ranging from podiatrists to pharmacists. Nine of these career fields are represented at the 42 MDG. "The reason we started this is because there are so many varied career fields in one corps and this week brings them together and recognizes everyone on the team," said Lt. Col. Craig Forcum, the 42 MDG's senior BSC officer. "Some of the smaller career fields can get isolated in their offices, and this gives them an opportunity to be a part of a larger group and get some much deserved recognition. We want to acknowledge not just the officers, but their enlisted and civilian office members." Forcum explained that, typically, when people think about the clinic, they may picture nurses and doctors; however, there are many additional specialties that make up the facility's residents. "A lot of the BSCs do work behind the scenes, and their work is not well known around base," he said. "Hopefully, this week brings some awareness of these offices and how important they are to base support." The corps is currently comprised of physical therapists, optometrists, podiatrists, audiology and speech pathologists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, physician assistants, occupational therapists, aerospace physiologists, clinical dietitians, bioenvironmental engineers, public health officers, medical entomologists, pharmacists and medical lab officers. While this is only year two of the annual celebration, Mailloux has high hopes for Maxwell's BSC week moving forward. "We hope that the week of celebrating our accomplishments and gathering everyone together will continue to grow in the future," he said. "I feel like the more time we spend together, the more we will understand what we all bring to the table and the stronger we will be as a whole."