By ROBERT TIMMONS
Fort Jackson Leader
Eleven drill instructors from New York City's Fire Department are ending a 12-day visit to Fort Jackson designed to let them compare best practices and to see how the Army integrates gender into its training.
Six instructors have watched how Army drill sergeants interact with their troops, and five others have attended the Master Fitness Training Course at the Army Physical Fitness School, as part of a partnership between FDNY and the post.
While they are at Fort Jackson, the firefighters are "basically adopting the best practices of the Army," said Lt. Rob Derrig, senior drill instructor at the New York Fire Academy and an academy drill instructor observing Basic Combat Training.
"We are trying to pick up some stuff that we can utilize when we are training firefighters," he said. "There are a lot of similarities between what they do and what we do.
"They train on much larger scale. It's a much larger number, but we can still adapt their practices to our (probationary firefighters)."
Probationary firefighters, or "probies," are recruits going through the academy or those on a trial status.
FDNY is considered the largest, busiest and most highly skilled emergency-response agency.
Roughly the size of an Army division, it employs more than 10,000 firefighters, 3,500 fire marshals, 300 fire inspectors, 400 dispatchers and 800 support personnel.
In the 16 years since Derrig began firefighting "tactics have changed, proven practices have changed," and the technology used to fight fires has changed, making adaptations necessary.
Derrik said he was impressed by the way drill sergeants "talk to people on the same level and lift up people who are not up to standards."
It's important for firefighters to train their probies correctly because New York deserves the best, he said.
Everyone loves the department, he said, so "it's our job to hold up our end of our reputation."
Capt. Jeffrey Christensen, commander of Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment, said the firefighters learned a lot from watching his unit at the single-target range.
"They came out to observe training and see how the drill sergeants interacted with trainees, and get some ideas they can take back to their academy," Christensen said. "They came up with some good ideas to bring home with them (because) the way we approach training is very similar."
The two organizations are more similar than one might imagine. Both train thousands of personnel yearly, in ways that are both mentally and physically demanding.
At the Master Fitness Course, five firefighters learned how they could emulate the Army's views on physical training.
Lt. Thomas Tanzosh, director of the health and fitness team tasked with overseeing the physical training of probies at FDNY, breezed through most of the training but also helped some Soldiers with techniques they could use to lift better.
Tanzosh's team is also charged with the health and wellness of the firefighters in the field.
"I think we will incorporate a little more of the mobility (exercises) into our program for probationary firefighters and coach them up more on body maintenance that they can perform on ourselves," he said.
The partnership had borne fruit even before the current visit.
"We have adopted the preparation drills from the Army, and we do use that now as our warm-up drills in probationary school to prepare the body for exercise. We have also done some of their temp work � 30s 60s and 120s -- we've incorporated that into our running program as well."
Tanzosh characterized firefighter training as tough and very physical. Those not in shape before entering the academy have trouble, he said.
"They work out four times a week," he said while waiting to be graded on his participation in the Master Fitness Course. "They have a functional-skills test, which is the 13 essential firefighting tasks they do in full gear, and on air with their masks on their backs."
Potential firefighters must work on aerobic and muscular strength because the FDNY "doesn't want a marathon runner but someone who can go up the stairs - but when they are at the top the stairs can do their work."
Not only did the firefighters learn from the Army training, they imparted their knowledge to other students in the course.
Sgt. 1st Class Angela Guigni, an Advanced Individual Training instructor at the U.S. Army Chaplain School, was having trouble performing deadlifts, and FDNY's Lt. Prentis Jackson gave her and other Soldiers tips to make the exercise easier.
"It's great to train with them," Guigni said. "We should look at their dedication" and try to emulate it.
"It broadens the mind."
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