The Department of Interior has produced a professional quality video aimed toward recruiting military veterans into firefighting jobs in the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. It is VERY well done and features interviews with veterans currently working as firefighters, emphasizing the common factors of teamwork and camaraderie found in both the military and wildland firefighting. Like a recruitment effort for any job, it tends to glamorize a bit, but that’s to be expected. It almost makes me want to pick up a Pulaski and build a fireline with my buds somewhere.
Not only is this likely to be effective in filling positions, it could also be helpful to our growing ranks of veterans who are exiting the military and re-entering civilian life.
UPDATE May 12, 2013: As some of the comments point out, a person would have to wonder how many positions the DOI expects to fill with veterans, in this atmosphere of declining budgets and shorter terms of employment for firefighters currently working.
Thank you Mr. Mangan.
[salute]
I’m confused Chuck. If you believe our Government is waging illegal wars, why would you want to get a job with that same Government? Not all who serve in the military have gone to war, but they have all sworn an oath to do what is asked of them when needed, all to preserve your right to not have to go to that illegal war. I think most Vets today, with an all volunteer military, have shown the mettle and willingness to serve their country. We’ll leave it at that.
Way to go Chuck. Way to bring politics into a conversation that wasn’t. I am a wildland firefighter but I didn’t serve in the military, so I didn’t benefit from this program, but have no problem with veterans getting some advantages coming out of the service. This goes for any service member whether they fought in Afghanistan/Iraq or not. Just let the whole “illegal war” bit go. It’s old and tired.
Fully against giving veterans an edge over regular civilians. Just because someone does not agree with the illegal wars being waged means they will have a harder time getting jobs? Bunch of BS. Just because someone was in the military does not mean they have the dicipline and motivation or work ethic for the job over civilians.
Chuck – I must strongly disagree with some of the comments made in this post. First, it may be helpful to know that I come from an earlier time: I got my Forestry degree in June 1968, and by December 1968 was
“drafted” and wearing a green Army suit in a period known as the “Vietnam Era”. Wanna talk about unpopular wars: just Google “Kent State University killings”, 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago” or even “UC Berkeley riots”.
I didn’t ask to go in the Army, left my child bride of less than 6 months and a new Forestry career to go where “my friends and neighbors” on the Draft Board decided to send me, all for the grand total of $97 per month.
You could avoid the Draft if married with child, in Grad School (hello, Dick Cheney) or could get into the National Guard (hello Dubya) since they weren’t called up for Active Duty. And of those who couldn’t avoid the Draft and served, more than 55,000 DIED and thousands of others were injured either physically and/or mentally (ever heard of Agent Orange or PTSD)?).
So yeah, when I got out, with a score of 100 on the old Civil Service Roster, I took the additional 5 Vet points and got my first USFS Forester job. After that point, Veterans Preference was never allowed in future promotional considerations. Veteran’s Preference has been on the American scene since WWII as a way to pay back, in some way, the service of those that serve.
Now, regarding your comments about “discipline, motivation or work ethic”, I’ve got to believe that you make those comments because you’ve never served in a military unit, or you get all of you military knowledge from reading “Beetle Bailey”? I’ve been thru the Basic, Advanced Infantry, Officer Candidate School, Basic and Advanced Officer classes, and can assure you that “discipline, motivation and work ethic” are all well and above those found in Basic Wildland Fire classes across the nation. In addition, the military doesn’t have the same HR restraints found in the rest of the Federal service – problems are dealt with at the Platoon and Company levels, and non-performers are motivated or shown the door!
Lastly, I’d ask you to take an objective look at the Fire Program as it exists today: where did the ICS concept come from? A Commander and Staff Group (S-1, S-2, S-3, S-4) are old military concepts from the 19th Century. How about AAR’s – know where that concept started – take a look at the L-180 video. Like the resources of the Lessons Learned Center: know where that started too? Any reason that Lark MacDonald’s MSC classes use ex-military as instructors for Leadership?
Lots of our Fire Leaders like Ed Heilmann (former R-1 Fire Director and WWII Vet), Ray Q and Pat Kelly did their time in the Military, and future fire leaders will hopefully be able to draw on those experiences too.
They don’t touch on the reality of the timeline, either- vets with no fire experience would start out as a GS-3 seasonal, qualify for a GS-4 for their second season, but it may take at least a couple years as a GS-4 to get to GS-5, which is where permanent jobs seem to start out. The lack of health insurance for seasonals is less of a concern for vets because of the VA, but the fact of working for 3-6 months a year for up to five years before having a shot at a permanent (still definitely not year-round) job should be emphasized as much as the feel-good voiceovers of how great it is to work in a National Park.
No way! The DOI is so completely bloated and out-of-touch with their fire personnel that they made a recruitment video while slashing fire budgets to put us low-GS people to our minimum tour of 6 months or less? Im shocked, shocked I tell ya.
–Outta Here
Interesting that the doi is recruiting, when are budgets are declining so far that we can work our temps only 3 months and our engine captains only 6.
I will agree with Bill……
One caveat……some these folks were PERMANAENT personnel by way of enlistment papers……
Recruiting is FAAAARRR more than some lame HR temporary assignments.
I well understand the need for temporary assignments, but the land management agencies have been depending on the backs of many people faaaar too long and the upward mobility of many promising career forestry types have been stifled by many a HR and social engineering policies.
If you do not see Vets hanging around after 5 years of temp work and not finding a career perm gig…and this goes for not vets also…..all the recruitment videos are not going to retain anyone once they see the various knaptions of the HR world
People will soon catch on and like everyone else…. looks for work in allied or even non related Gov or civilian work
Great on recruitment video…Now do the right thing and TRULY Retain those quality individuals……bet the the DOI and USFS won’t even keep 50%….
Let’s see a “study” on that!!