Fire Officer Positions

[Chief-2]

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[firestartarter]

Try these companies start

ITT, Dyncorp, WSI, Raytheon, Vinnell Arabia and PAE Group.

[peterbound]

I was an A/C for WSI. It's going to be a lot different than anything you are used to. I don't know if they are hiring straight Chief positions, but if you are looking into that, go as an A/C and put in for the promotion after 6 months.

Most of the guys that went over as Chiefs already knew most of the management in place at the VBC

[peterbound]

Does anyone have any info/insight on Officer positions with any of the contractors in Iraq or Afghanistan? Looking to retire and still help out where I can. Too many certs to list / 30 plus years with AF Fire Protection 20 as a Chief Officer.

And don't go to help, go to make money. You'll only be frustrated with the 'helping' attitude and only satisfied with the greedy attitude. Trust me.

[ffbobbyhill]

And don't go to help, go to make money. You'll only be frustrated with the 'helping' attitude and only satisfied with the greedy attitude. Trust me.

Yep, that sounds like most of the officers...minus a few awesome ones.

[Chief-2]

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[peterbound]

A little bit of that, sure. Most of the problem lies at HQ. The ability to lead a site and 'help' out the guys gets difficult with some of the mandates laid down by HQ. You've also got to look at the troops they are hiring. Many come over expecting one thing and getting hit like a brick in the face that they are in a war zone, they have to operate in a different manner than they are use to, and they inspection cycle is much more demanding.
Most of the people they are bringing over are just a number, they need to put meat in a seat to show coverage. It's up to you as the Chief/AC to deal with them when they get to your site.

[Chief-2]

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[peterbound]

I only worked for WSI, and as an A/C the hours were great. As a chief they will be the same. Full 16's, so 112's a week. They were splitting hours with the Chiefs and A/C's for a while and that sucked, but the new manager changed that. I was averaging about 11000-12000 a month as and A/C depending on the OT

[Bent101]

Don't get me wrong here Chief, not trying to sharpshoot your comment, but the majority of the Airmen, Soldiers, Marines, and Sailors that graduate from Tech School are fresh recruits just like any Firefighting Academy in the world. It is actually up to us veterans of the DOD Fire Service whether Civilian or Military to provide these recruits with the furthering education/training (OJT) once they get to there permanent duty assignments. The difference in that and what the individual was stating is going on in the contract world is that these firefighters are hired on the condition that they have at least 3 years of experience! Now what these companies consider 3 years of experience is most likely different then what you or I would consider! For instance, when you have a young man that is only 19-20 yrs old showing up at your site, just where could have he received this 3 years of experience! The answer is explorer time in a volunteer dept. Before any of the volunteers start bashing, hold on, I do not have one single problem with volunteer firefighters. As a matter of fact, I have worked with many that would put some of the career firefighters that are in the contract world to shame. My point is that these cats are supposed to be able to hit the ground running at the basic firefighter II level. And this hasn't been the case many times over, whereas the Airmen you were referring to are indeed true probies that need to be brought up in the traditional way. Hope that explains it a bit better and like I said, wasn't trying to start no beef. Take care and good luck with the contract world, like was said before, It is most definetly a different animal!!!

[peterbound]

Don't get me wrong here Chief, not trying to sharpshoot your comment, but the majority of the Airmen, Soldiers, Marines, and Sailors that graduate from Tech School are fresh recruits just like any Firefighting Academy in the world. It is actually up to us veterans of the DOD Fire Service whether Civilian or Military to provide these recruits with the furthering education/training (OJT) once they get to there permanent duty assignments. The difference in that and what the individual was stating is going on in the contract world is that these firefighters are hired on the condition that they have at least 3 years of experience! Now what these companies consider 3 years of experience is most likely different then what you or I would consider! For instance, when you have a young man that is only 19-20 yrs old showing up at your site, just where could have he received this 3 years of experience! The answer is explorer time in a volunteer dept. Before any of the volunteers start bashing, hold on, I do not have one single problem with volunteer firefighters. As a matter of fact, I have worked with many that would put some of the career firefighters that are in the contract world to shame. My point is that these cats are supposed to be able to hit the ground running at the basic firefighter II level. And this hasn't been the case many times over, whereas the Airmen you were referring to are indeed true probies that need to be brought up in the traditional way. Hope that explains it a bit better and like I said, wasn't trying to start no beef. Take care and good luck with the contract world, like was said before, It is most definetly a different animal!!!

That is the most exclamation marks i have ever seen in a paragraph. You win the thread.

[Chief-2]

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[LtFiredawg]

wsi project manager

Who is the current in country project manager for WSI

[peterbound]

A former AF officer. Can't remember his name, but he seemed like an alright guy. He let the A/C's and Chief go back to having their own hours.

The management i'm referring to is based on the old PM. Not a good time.

[LtFiredawg]

would the project manager happen to be Gary Ellis