2016-Strive to be a better Leader, Fire Officer, Firefighter, Instructor, Mentor, Role Model, Senior or Junior “guy|gal”, “Brother”, Friend, Person….Human; Be accountable, become engaged, be responsible and better yourself in your varied roles and responsibilities towards those you love and care for. You have nothing but blank pages to fill in your book of life […]

As I reflect back over the years in my career there is one lesson I remember that resinates from my mentors, “If you put the organization first, then your wants and ambitions will soon follow. But it is always about the orgainization first, your suborindates second and you are last.” Well I have to often […]

Captain Patrick “Paddy” Brown, FDNY Remembrance, One of Many Stories: One of the 343… On September 11, 2001, Captain Patrick Brown and eleven men from FDNY Ladder 3 responded to the attacks at the World Trade Center. His firehouse, Ladder 3, is located in very close proximity to the Twin Towers so his was one […]

Knowledge is Power… Share It !!! This statement is often used by many including myself. So what does it truly mean? It means that you will freely give of your knowledge and wisdom to others withholding nothing. It never fails, I will see a leader of an organization trying to hold information and knowledge from […]

In Doug Cline’s previous posting: Shaping the Future “Creating Leaders in our Youth”  Part I he ended the with a question, “So officers are you shaping the fire service’s future?” Here’s his latest installment. I hope this prompted fire officers to intra-inspect themselves to see if they were shaping the fire service’s future. I further hope this generated […]

   Two dates and a dash in the middle…that equates to your day of birth, your life and your day of death. The middle component is symbolized by a dash (-). So what does that dash mean? Well let’s be honest it divides the dates on the gravestone and it is symbolic of your time […]

The Company officer is, a position that involves more diversity than the majority of positions in our society today.  With that being said, the requirement for predicated knowledge, skills and abilities is extremely diverse.  The most obvious one is the need to understand the emergency response skills required to mitigate the situations faced and to […]

A chief officer who understands the real role of the company officer will view them as an extension of their leadership and management team.  Progressive chief officers encourage the company officer to become highly engaged in the direction setting and leadership of the organization.  Decision making at the company officer level is critical to the […]

                  Who is the Company Officer?  That is a good question.  Let me introduce you to who this individual really is.  Below I have  created a list describing the company officer.  This list will introduce you to who the company officer  really is and the many critical […]

No matter what your title may be, the one thing that’s consistent is the crucial role that the company officer plays in the operations of the fire service.  In fact it is the most critical role in leadership of the execution of the organization’s  mission.  The training of company officers has been extremely important through […]