One of the things about the National Guard is that we are known for “putting out fires”. It is true that every summer, forest fires start raging somewhere in the USA. The National Guard is frequently tasked to help with forest and rangeland wildfires, anything from crowd control to actual firefighting, to resource management and helicopter operations to battle flames and evacuate people.

Now, it’s not like everyone gets a phone call and told “Gear up, you’re fighting fires tomorrow.” Each year in early Spring they put out a call for volunteers for the upcoming fire season. You volunteer, they accept you, schedule training, and then once you are certified, you wait for a call-up. It may happen immediately, it may not happen at all, it may end up being a thing that happens over and over again.

I’ve never done fire duty, but the helicopter aviation unit I am in is –as you can imagine– a regular participant.

That said, I have had to “put out a lot of fires” in the more philosophical sense; having to come up with solutions to sudden problems or find answers to things that weren’t a priority just minutes before. Working on a Battalion staff as I do now, I meet a lot of people who have to run around and put out the “fire of the moment” before moving on to the next sudden flare-up.

Really, unless you’re the boss, we probably all serve putting out fires in one form or another.