{"id":19058,"date":"2018-11-24T17:17:20","date_gmt":"2018-11-24T17:17:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/11\/24\/veterans-find-community-hard-work-in-rare-firefighting-crew\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:55:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:55:05","slug":"veterans-find-community-hard-work-in-rare-firefighting-crew","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/veterans\/2018\/11\/24\/veterans-find-community-hard-work-in-rare-firefighting-crew\/","title":{"rendered":"Veterans find community, hard work in rare firefighting crew"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SALEM, Ore. \u2014 After being in firefights in Afghanistan and Iraq, members of one of America\u2019s newest elite wildfire crews are tasked with fighting fires<\/a> in rugged country back home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the U.S. Bureau of Land Management\u2019s only hotshot crew focused on recruiting veterans, members have traded assault rifles and other weapons of war for chain saws and shovels. But, like in the military, they have camaraderie, structure and chain of command. And the occasional adrenaline rush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing in a firefight is way different than being in a wildland fire, but both are mentally taxing,\u201d said Chris Schott, who served two tours in Afghanistan with the Army\u2019s 7th Special Forces Group. \u201cIn a wildland fire, no one\u2019s shooting at you, but conditions can go favorable to unfavorable very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This 2007 photo shows Christopher Schott in the northern Kandahar Province in Afghanistan. After being in firefights in Afghanistan and Iraq, members of a new elite crew from Lakeview, Ore., are bringing their military experience to bear as they battle wildfires in the most rugged country back home. Schott said joining the Oregon-based crew helped get his life back on track. (Courtesy of Christopher Schott via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Lakeview Veterans Interagency Hotshot Crew<\/a>, based in Klamath Falls, Oregon, received its hotshot certification after rigorous training and testing, the Bureau of Land Management announced last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s now among 112 elite U.S. wildland firefighting teams and the only targeting veterans for recruitment, the agency said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crew superintendent Michael McGirr said he and other managers took then-President Barack Obama\u2019s initiative to hire veterans<\/a> to heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We felt it was important for them to transition back home,” McGirr said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their maturity and ability to follow and lead are benefits that quickly became apparent when the crew started operating in 2012 as a lower-classification unit, McGirr said. Their military experience also means they’re used to enduring tough missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It’s a lot of arduous hiking in nasty terrain,” McGirr said. “The steeper the terrain, that’s usually the ground hotshots are on.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A member of a fire crew out of Lakeview, Ore., works on the Cougar Creek Fire in central Washington state on Aug. 17. After being in firefights in Afghanistan and Iraq, members of the new elite crew are bringing their military experience to bear as they battle wildfires in the most rugged country back home The Lakeview Crew 7 is comprised almost entirely of U.S. military veterans. (Kari Greer\/BLM\/USDA Forest Service via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kenn Boles, a member of the crew since 2012 who did three tours in Iraq as a Marine, agreed that veterans can withstand the intense work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You’re working hard, sweating; the fire doesn’t stop because of those things,” he said. “It’s like in combat \u2014 just because you’re hungry, tired and thirsty doesn’t mean the firefight stops.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crew is on leave and hasn\u2019t been battling the recent deadly wildfires in California<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the 25 positions on the crew, 17 are filled by veterans, McGirr said. There are three additional openings, and McGirr said he wants to recruit female veterans, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This 2014 photo of Christopher Schott shows him during his first year on a firefighting crew out of Lakeview, Ore. Schott served two tours in Afghanistan with the Army\u2019s 7th Special Forces Group and said joining the Oregon-based crew helped get his life back on track. (Christopher Schott via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Schott, the Army veteran, said the crew felt they had the potential to achieve elite hotshot status after fighting fires in 2015, including one in Oregon\u2019s Crater Lake National Park that they almost had contained when winds picked up and changed direction, pushing the flames behind them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“After that, we thought we could be the first veterans hotshot crew in the nation,” Schott said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crew usually works for nine months, with three months off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We spend more time together than with our families,” McGirr said. “It’s a grueling pace. We eat together, sleep together.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That creates a camaraderie that allows the veterans to share their wartime experiences with those who understand what they endured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boles lost a close friend a week after he left Iraq. That was the biggest contributor to post-traumatic stress disorder that hit him later, he said, describing it as “a lot of survivor’s guilt.”<\/p>\n\n\n\t