As several nations on the fringes of the international community continue their nuclear-weapons research at a steady pace, the duties performed by Airmen with the Reporting Identifier 9S100 Scientific Applications Specialist (SAS) become increasingly important for national security. Highly trained in a variety of disciplines such as thermodynamics, mathematics, statistics, chemistry, and image analysis and utilizing both active and passive sensors collecting data from a panoply of sources, Scientific Applications Specialists scour the globe for telltales signs of the testing of nuclear capabilities.
In recent years, SAS Airmen have also begun searching for signs of use of other technologies that would fall under the description of Weapons of Mass Destruction, primarily Chemical, Biological, and Explosive. Highly sensitive airborne collection systems, for example, are employed to detect both airborne chemical or biological agents. As they acquire experience, SAS Airmen are tasked with research and development assignments that will enhance not only data-collection methods, but also the techniques and equipment used in the creation of the intelligence reports that will be used to craft appropriate response to confirmed WMD testing or use.
Although a college degree is not required to pursue a career as an SAS, working knowledge of advanced mathematics, physics, thermodynamics, computers, and statistics is a must. Candidates must also pass a Single Scope Background Investigation (SSBI) before they can be deployed for their first assignment following completion of the 90-day SAS course at Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas. The only exception regarding the SSBI mandate comes at the start of training: candidates who have yet to pass the SSBI but who have been granted interim Sensitive Compartmented Information eligibility will not be prevented from beginning their training.