Pecker Patrol

My one and only first cousin, worked for a contractor on the Space Shuttle project.  For the first couple of years he was assigned to security, later moving onto access control as the "count man."(I had to make sure I spelled that right.) 

When he was on security, if they had a shuttle on the launch pad, like the one above (great photo - I took this from the approach to the beach at Playalinda) he would be sent out to the launch pad for "pecker patrol."  The big red fuel tank was covered in spray foam, and woodpeckers, birds that peck into trees for bugs, would peck into the foam.  Foam falling off led to a disaster, and the engineers were aware of this weakness long before the disaster.  The woodpeckers were a protected species, and besides you don't want to be shooting guns near the spacecraft. So security would be stationed on the launch tower around the shuttle, with airhorns and binoculars and charged with scaring the birds away, pecker patrol. 

Later he was the count-man.  When technicians work on a spacecraft, before they enter the area, they count everything the person has with them, tools, supplies, even keys and change.  When you come back out, they count everything again.  Any differences must be accounted for.  This prevents things being left behind, or souvenirs being taken (NASA closely controls space hardware, they will get a court order and seize anything, especially flown hardware, that was taken without permission.)  Early on, there were issues with tools being left behind, or souvenirs being left in the spacecraft to be retrieved after the flight.  Astronauts were allowed a limited quantity of personal baggage, flags and coins flown in space by astronauts are sought after collectables.   

Would you list "pecker patrol" on as the profession on your tax return?