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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 26, 2018)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2018 Unique firefighting crew has common trait: Military service By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press SALEM — After being in firefights in Afghanistan and Iraq, members of one of America’s newest elite wild- fire crews are tasked with fighting fires in rugged coun- try back home. On the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s only hotshot crew focused on recruiting veterans, mem- bers have traded assault rifles and other weapons of war for chain saws and shovels. But, like in the military, they have camaraderie, struc- ture and chain of command. And the occasional adrena- line rush. “Being in a firefight is way different than being in a wildland fire, but both are mentally taxing,” said Chris Schott, who served two tours in Afghanistan with the Army’s 7th Special Forces Group. “In a wildland fire, no one’s shooting at you, but conditions can go favorable to unfavorable very quickly.” The Lakeview Veterans Interagency Hotshot Crew, based in Klamath Falls, received its hotshot certifica- tion after rigorous training and testing, the Bureau of Land Management announced last week. It’s now among 112 elite U.S. wildland firefight- ing teams and the only target- ing veterans for recruitment, the agency said. Crew superintendent Michael McGirr said he and other managers took then-President Barack Obama’s initiative to hire vet- erans to heart. “We felt it was important for them to transition back home,” McGirr said. Their maturity and ability to follow and lead are benefits that quickly became apparent when the crew started operat- ing in 2012 as a lower-clas- sification unit, McGirr said. Their military experience also means they’re used to enduring tough missions. “It’s a lot of arduous hik- ing in nasty terrain,” McGirr said. “The steeper the terrain, that’s usually the ground hot- shots are on.” Kenn Boles, a member of the crew since 2012 who did three tours in Iraq as a Marine, agreed that veter- ans can withstand the intense work. “You’re working hard, sweating; the fire doesn’t stop because of those things,” he said. “It’s like in combat — just because you’re hungry, tired and thirsty doesn’t mean the firefight stops.” The crew is on leave and Kari Greer/BLM/USDA Forest Service Members of a fire crew out of Lakeview work on the Cougar Creek Fire in August in central Washington state. Christopher Schott Christopher Schott Christopher Schott in 2007 in northern Kandahar Prov- ince, in Afghanistan. hasn’t been battling the recent deadly wildfires in California. Of the 25 positions on the crew, 17 are filled by veter- ans, McGirr said. There are three additional openings, and McGirr said he wants to recruit female veterans, too. Schott, the Army veteran, said the crew felt they had the potential to achieve elite hot- shot status after fighting fires in 2015, including one in Cra- ter Lake National Park that they almost had contained when winds picked up and changed direction, pushing the flames behind them. They worked two weeks in a row, digging fire lines and doing prescribed burns to deprive the fire of fuel. After three days off, they worked another two weeks straight. “After that, we thought we could be the first veterans hotshot crew in the nation,” Schott said. The crew usually works for nine months, with three months off. “We spend more time together than with our fami- WANTED (2) (-) (-) (6) (-) (8) (9) (10) (12) (13) (-) (20) (-) (29) (30) (31) (32) (34) (35) (36) (38) (39) (43) (44) (45) (46) (47) (48) (49) (50) (51) (52) (53) (54) (56) (57) (58) (61) (63) (64) (65) (162) KATU KOMO KING KOIN KIRO KGW KRCW KOPB KPTV KPDX KCPQ TBS KZJO ESPN ESPN2 NICK DISN FAM FMC LIFE ROOT FS1 SPIKE COM HIST A&E TLC DISC NGEO TNT AMC USA FOOD HGTV FX CNN FNC CNBC BRAV TCM SYFY RFD (2) (4) (5) (-) (7) (-) (3) (10) (12) (-) (13) (20) (22) (29) (30) (31) (32) (34) (35) (36) (38) (39) (43) (44) (45) (46) (47) (48) (49) (50) (51) (52) (53) (54) (56) (57) (58) (61) (63) (64) (65) (162) 6 PM in action. It was his best friend. “Myself, I was in denial for quite a long time about my PTSD,” Schott said, add- ing that joining the crew and opening up to other veterans “helped me get my life back on track and where it needs to be.” The Bureau of Land Man- agement is proud of the crew and efforts to develop a work- force of veterans, said Jef- frey Fedrizzi, agency deputy director for fire and aviation. He said the men attain- ing hotshot status “demon- strates the exemplary quality and performance ingrained in this crew.” Divorce need not be expensive. We help you get the paperwork right and provide mediation to help you divide your assets. Christy Shoop Brian G. Kulhanjian Paperwork Mediation RESOLUTION SERVICES Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 M ONDAY E VENING L lies,” McGirr said. “It’s a gru- eling pace. We eat together, sleep together.” That creates a camarade- rie that allows the veterans to share their wartime experi- ences with those who under- stand what they endured. Boles lost a close friend a week after he left Iraq. That was the biggest contributor to post-traumatic stress disor- der that hit him later, he said, 552 Commercial Street Astoria (503) 325-9115 A division of Stahancyk, Kent & Hook SCHEDULE THE DAILY ASTORIAN A Schott works in Utah with a firefighting crew out of Lakeview. describing it as “a lot of sur- vivor’s guilt.” The veterans have each other’s backs when PTSD issues arise, acting as a support group. “Instead of bottling it up, we’re really receptive to hear- ing people’s stories and prob- lems,” said Boles, who was in the invasion of Iraq and in heavy fighting in Fallujah and Ramadi. Schott, who served in Afghanistan’s Urozgan Prov- ince north of Kandahar, said, “A lot of times you think, this can’t get any worse. 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