Spc. Graydon Irish, a firefighter with Montana National Guard's 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group starts a fire truck while training on Camp Ripley. The Soldiers are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump and adjusting water pressure prior to mobilizing.
Soldiers of the 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group are training with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The Soldiers, who are from Montana, are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump and adjusting water pressure.
Soldiers of the 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group are training with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The Montana Soldiers are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump, adjusting water pressure and driving fire trucks.
Soldiers of the 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group are training with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The Soldiers, who are from Montana, are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump and adjusting water pressure.
Soldiers of the 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group are training with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The Soldiers, who are from Montana, are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump and adjusting water pressure.
Soldiers of the 1051st Firefighting Tactical Group are training with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The Montana Soldiers are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump, adjusting water pressure and driving fire trucks.
Soldiers of the 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group are training with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The Montana Soldiers are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump, adjusting water pressure and driving fire trucks.
Soldiers of the 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group are training with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The Montana Soldiers are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump, adjusting water pressure and driving fire trucks.
Spc. Robert Thurman, Spc. Graydon Irish and Spc. Kyle Vanatta, firefighters with Montana National Guard's 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group prepare a fire truck while training on Camp Ripley. The Soldiers are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump and adjusting water pressure prior to mobilizing.
Soldiers of the 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group are training with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The Soldiers, who are from Montana, are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump and adjusting water pressure.
Spc. Kyle Vanatta, a firefighter with Montana National Guard's 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group trains with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The training is to familiarize Soldiers with operating a pump, adjusting water pressure and driving a fire truck.
Soldiers of the 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group are training with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The Soldiers, who are from Montana, are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump and adjusting water pressure.
Soldiers of the 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group are training with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The Soldiers, who are from Montana, are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump and adjusting water pressure.
Soldiers of the 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group are training with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The Soldiers, who are from Montana, are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump and adjusting water pressure.
Soldiers of the 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group are training with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The Soldiers, who are from Montana, are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump and adjusting water pressure.
Spc. Robert Thurman, a firefighter with Montana National Guard's 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group lowers a hose while training on Camp Ripley. The Soldiers are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump and adjusting water pressure prior to mobilizing.
Spc. Kyle Vanatta, a firefighter with Montana National Guard's 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group trains with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The training is to familiarize Soldiers with operating a pump, adjusting water pressure and driving a fire truck.
Spc. Kyle Vanatta, a firefighter with Montana National Guard's 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group trains with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The training is to familiarize Soldiers with operating a pump, adjusting water pressure and driving a fire truck.
Soldiers of the 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group are training with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The Soldiers, who are from Montana, are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump and adjusting water pressure.
Soldiers of the 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group are training with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The Soldiers, who are from Montana, are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump and adjusting water pressure.
Spc. Alexander Knauer, a firefighter with Montana National Guard's 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group watches the water in the pool while training on Camp Ripley. The Soldiers are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump and adjusting water pressure prior to mobilizing.
Soldiers of the 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group are training with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The Soldiers, who are from Montana, are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump and adjusting water pressure.
Spc. Kyle Vanatta, a firefighter with Montana National Guard's 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group trains with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The training is to familiarize Soldiers with operating a pump, adjusting water pressure and driving a fire truck.
Soldiers of the 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group are training with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The Soldiers, who are from Montana, are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump and adjusting water pressure.
Spc. Kyle Vanatta, a firefighter with Montana National Guard's 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group trains with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The training is to familiarize Soldiers with operating a pump, adjusting water pressure and driving a fire truck.
Spc. Robert Thurman, a firefighter with Montana National Guard's 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group works as a team with Spc. Kyle Vanatta while training on Camp Ripley. The Soldiers are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump and adjusting water pressure prior to mobilizing.
Spc. Alexander Knauer, a firefighter with Montana National Guard's 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group watches the water pressure while training on Camp Ripley. The Soldiers are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump and adjusting water pressure prior to mobilizing.
Spc. Kyle Vanatta, a firefighter with Montana National Guard's 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group trains with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley, Dec. 2, 2020, to complete required classes prior to mobilizing. The training is to familiarize Soldiers with operating a pump, adjusting water pressure and driving a fire truck.
Spc. Graydon Irish, Spc. Justin Wilkinson and Spc. Kyle Vanatta, firefighters with Montana National Guard's 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group work as a team while training on Camp Ripley. The Soldiers are familiarizing themselves with operating a pump and adjusting water pressure prior to mobilizing.
LITTLE FALLS, Minn. – In preparation for deployment to Romania in 2021, the 1051st Fire Fighter Tactical Group conducted training with Central Lakes College at Camp Ripley Nov. 30-Dec. 4.
Sgt. Jared Rubel, the station chief with the Montana National Guard’s 1051st Fire Fighting Tactical Group, said it was great to have the opportunity to come to Camp Ripley.
“Camp so far has been amazing. We aren’t used to a base this large,” Rubel said. “The barracks we use [back home] do not have a kitchen or offices or anything like that. We can do all our training here without having to shuttle everybody back and forth to the different courses.”
The training involved eight courses required before deployment. After each course, the Soldiers take a nationally recognized test to get certified through The Pro Board.
Noncommissioned officers completed Fire Inspector and Fire Officer courses, while the lower enlisted took Mobile Water Supply, Pumper Operator, and Driving courses.
Spc. Justin Wilkinson, a nozzleman for the 1051st FFTG, explained how the course would benefit the unit.
“Once you pull up on scene, the first thing you have to do is establish water supply,” Wilkinson said. “The truck is designed to increase the water pressure because every hundred feet of hose, there is friction loss. The pump turns the water into a higher pressure so we can fight fire. We are training to be able to operate that pump and learn how to direct pressure based on how much hose is out.”
Eric Makowski of Central Lakes College led the unit’s training. “It’s a fun group,” he said. “They are very energetic.”
The unit’s main mission is to respond to wildfires, structural fires, natural disasters, and car crashes on base. Once deployed, the main mission will be structural fires, such as house or dumpster fires on post.
The training completed on Camp Ripley will ensure each Soldier is fully certified to operate the fire trucks. It will also help the unit to understand how to run a fire station.
“At home, we have our unit, battalion, brigade, and everyone we know to help us through things,” Rubel said. “While we are over there, it’s just going to be us and firefighting groups we have never met before. The training will make it better, not only from a certification standpoint of being qualified to do our jobs but also having the knowledge to do it.”
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