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The President of the United States – who serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the U. S. Armed Forces – touched off a firestorm of commentary and debate in September 2014 when he rendered a “salute” to his Marine guard while holding a coffee cup in his saluting hand. Some have...

Everyday, each one of us is presented with the opportunity to have our characters tested. It is up to us to champion these daily challenges. This, however, is often easier said than done. One such event that showed us this was when New Orleans Saints coach, Greg...

What is goal-setting? Why is it important for us as firefighters? Yogi Berra gave the classic answer, “If you don’t know where you are going, you might end up someplace else.” As firefighters we should always have personal and professional goals that lead to our moral, mental and...

“It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt.” How many times have we heard that refrain in our lives? Yet horseplay still happens at the firehouse, and yes, firefighters do get hurt due to horseplay. Do any of us want to be involved in a situation where our brother/sister...

As firefighters we love our tools. We know we need the right tool for the job at hand, so we spend a lot of time determining what tasks we will encounter as firefighters and deciding what tools we can use to address those tasks. One task we encounter in nearly everything we do is...

Look At the Pictures Take a look at the pictures that accompany this article. Make it a long look. Let those pictures sink in. The Story My driver and I were standing about five feet from the rear bumper of this engine company when that driver plowed into us. I’ve heard bombs go...

The Performance Review Many departments use some type of formal performance review and development (PRD) system as a part of their overall human resources program.  The typical PRD document includes line items that describe job duties for a specific position, and a rating system...

In part 1 we discussed how the leadership compass is built and how you as a leader in the fire service need to develop a leadership philosophy. Putting Together A Plan, Need An Example? Once you’ve answered these questions for yourself, write them into a philosophy that you can...

The United States Navy continually monitors the performance of its warships to ensure that they are always battle-ready. Over time, naval leaders noticed that some ships were performing at a higher level than others. This was puzzling because the ship classes were standardized,...

The Flat Earth As a boy Christopher Columbus was holding an orange on which a butterfly had landed. He noticed that when he turned the orange around he could see the tips of its wings coming up from the backside of the piece of fruit. As he turned the orange toward him the entire...