WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Aug. 20, 2015) -- Defense Secretary Ash Carter approved the assignment of active-duty Soldiers to assist the National Interagency Fire Center, or NIFC, in battling wildfires in the western states, Aug. 17.
Guard Soldiers are already helping firefighters battle some of the 95 large wildfires that currently are burning in six Western states.
NIFC personnel and the Bureau of Land Management's Vegas Valley crew on Joint-Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, or JBLM, began training active-duty Soldiers, Aug. 19.
"This is the first time since 2006 that active-duty military personnel served as firefighters," said Lt. Col. Bob Dunwoody. He serves as commander of 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Field Artillery Brigade, 7th Infantry Division.
Dunwoody commands Task Force First Round, which includes 200 Soldiers from JBLM, who will fight the wildfires. He spoke during a media roundtable at the Pentagon, Aug. 20.
The Soldiers are completing their training and will depart JBLM by bus, Aug. 21, to the incident base camp near the Tower Fire, or TF, which is burning in the Colville National Forest just north of Spokane, Washington, Dunwoody said. They are expected to begin firefighting duties, Aug. 23.
The fire started Aug. 11 and now covers 8,300 acres of timberland, said Rod Bloms, a fire operations specialist. Bloms also serves as a liaison with the incident management team commander and TF First Round. He said because winds have picked up today, the fire is spreading.
Training completed by the Soldiers at JBLM consisted of brush clearing, fire-break procedures, learning wildfire behavior and terminology, firefighting safety, use and maintenance of tools, which will be used for fire suppression, and use of personal-protective equipment, Dunwoody said.
TF First Round Soldiers have been divided into 10 teams of 20 Soldiers. Each team will be accompanied by an advisor and a commander. All teams will be co-located and all will move out as a unified command, he said.
The Soldiers will primarily be involved in a "cold-line" capacity to relieve the professional firefighters so they can engage directly with traditional firefighting tasks, he said. A cold line means areas that are already burned. Soldiers would ensure there are no flare-ups.
The Army does not have firefighters, but it has Soldiers who can do incredible work in noncombat, as well as combat roles, said Lt. Col. Joseph Buccino, an Army spokesman, who was at the media roundtable.
Soldiers are valued as potential firefighters and for their ability to perform other first responder duties because their Army training provides them with skilled command and control capabilities. Additionally, Buccino said, Soldiers are physically fit, have combat lifesaver skills, can operate in austere environments and understand the chain of command.
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