Welcome Home Soldier|Firefighters!

Welcome home Eagle-Matt Lee Firefighter/US Army PFC Calvin James Bauer after his completion of Army Basic Training which he started in July 2013.

Two recent fire department Facebook posts prompted this share:

“Eagle-Matt Lee Fire Co. #1 is very excited to welcome home Eagle-Matt Lee Firefighter/US Army PFC Calvin James Bauer after his completion of Army Basic Training which he started in July 2013.

Welcome Home Calvin!”

I love how PFC Bauer is sporting the Soldier|Firefighter look with his turnout coat and fatigues.

And from the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department, Inc.

“The Officers & Members of the RVFD wish the best of luck to Fireman John F. Kennedy. Today John, along with the other men of the 1st Battalion 7th Marines, head to Helmand, Afghanistan. We are confident that John will serve our country and the people of Afghanistan proudly, just as he has done for the citizens of Rockville, MD. Stay safe Brother John, your RVFD family will be waiting patiently for your return home to the Co. 3 Bunkroom!”

Welcome home SoldierFirefighters! Check us out on Facebook and Twitter.

Double Duty.

I think I like “Double Duty” even more than “Two Hatter” in describing SoldierFirefighters. Here’s a great story of one soldier who has put his military training to the test as a firefighter serving his community and vice-verse. Rob Fox is the SoldierFirefighter that this GX Magazine article features.

Here’s his story on the National Guard website: http://www.nationalguard.com/soldier-stories/rob-fox

Veterans Hiring Program Debuts for the Fire Service

Our sister site: FireRECRUITER.com reports that the US Department of Homeland Security has announced its Veterans Hiring Program as part of the SAFER-Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response grant program for the fire service.

Click for the details: http://firerecruiter.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/dhs-announces-veterans-hiring-program/

“Hire a Hero” Event Reinforces Opportunity to Recruit Vets

You don’t need to look hard to read between the lines of this Buffalo News article to see that it reinforces the tremendous opportunity for the volunteer fire service to embrace and welcome home returning veterans by recruiting them into our ranks.

As Buffalo News Reporter Gene Warner refers to “That challenge — how to convert military discipline, teamwork and even combat experience into a successful job search…” could be answered with the opportunity to serve in the volunteer fire service. All we have to do is open our doors and our hearts to these special people who have already done so much to protect their country and their community.

I first became aware of this event thanks to my good friend and SoldierFirefighter Dan Frontera who is in charge of veteran services for Erie Community College. I happened to catch this flyer on his door while taking a class at ECC’s Oak Street Campus.

Read the complete article and take heed of the challenges these service men and women face. We in the fire service hold a unique and much-needed resource in allowing them to re-connect with their community and its people by continuing their legacy of service.

http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/buffalo/article758092.ece

Recruiting Veterans Can Help Your FD get “SAFER”

It appears that even the Federal Government has caught on to the Soldier-Firefighter concept.

Building off President Obama’s urgency to provide rewarding opportunities for returning veterans, the US Department of Homeland Security has included language in the recently released FY2011 SAFER Grant Program Guidance that encourages the recruitment and hiring of men and women who served in our nation’s military post-9/11:

“FEMA strongly encourages applicants, to the extent practicable, to seek, recruit, and hire post-9/11 veterans to increase their ranks within your department in order to take advantage of the provisions of the VOW To Hire Heroes Act of 2011. More information on the Act can be found at http://www.gibill.va.gov/benefits/other_programs/vow.html.

In FY 2012, FEMA anticipates a preference for all SAFER applicants to have a policy in place addressing their intent to implement strategies to support this Act and to have recruiting efforts aimed at post-9/11 veterans.”

President Urges Hiring, Recruiting of Veterans

According to this article posted on FirefighterNation.com: “Let’s get more cops on the beat, let’s get more rangers in the parks, let’s get more firefighters on call, and in the process, we’re going to put more veterans back to work,” Obama said Friday (February 3, 2012) at a fire station in Arlington, Va., that was one of the first to respond to the attack on the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.

Furthermore, in its guidance document for the 2011 SAFER grant program for hiring career firefighters and recruiting volunteer firefighters, FEMA “strongly encourages applicants, to the extent practicable, to seek, recruit, and hire post-9/11 veterans to increase their ranks within your department in order to take advantage of the provisions of the VOW To Hire Heroes Act of 2011.”

These statements certainly reinforce the necessity, and the benefits of connecting soldiers and firefighters and back it up with support from our “commander-and-chief”

REFERENCES:

• http://www.firefighternation.com/article/news-2/president-obama-uses-arlington-firehouse-push-veterans-jobs-initiative
• http://www.fema.gov/firegrants/docs/pdf/FY2011_SAFER_ProgramGuidance.pdf