Response to NFFE Inquiry to the Field on GS-0401 FPM Log 21

Demographic Questions

What is your Region? 8

How many years have you been in fire? 21

What are your highest current red card quals?

Type 2 Incident Commander and Type 1 Operations Section Chief

Were you placed in a GS-401 Fire Management Specialist position after Feb. 15, 2005?

Yes

If yes:

1. How were you placed in this position (e.g., new hire, promotion, position converted, reassigned, lateral, etc.)? Applied and selected for a promotion

2. Did you meet the positive education requirements? Yes

· How many were NWCG, TFM, USDA Grad, or college?

NWCG 8 and 16 college credits

· Did the agency certify you as qualified after you earned these semester hours? If not, how many semester hours short were you?

I was never notified that I was or was not certified.

· How did your quals status change after the review under the new rules? If short semester hours, how many now?

My fire qualifications are unchanged however my qualifications to be in the job I’m currently in do not meet the new standards. Now I’m short 24 credits.

· Do you know with confidence what courses you need to take to fulfill the new quals requirement?

· How do you plan to meet this new requirement? Is it practically do-able?

I am requesting information from various colleges that offer courses that I think will meet the requirement. It is no achievable within the current time restraints.

· Please describe how this has affected you personally and also effects on your unit. Are you or anyone you know about planning to bag the thing? Why or why not?

This requirement will substantially affect me personally. It will require considerable travel and money that is not available for this type activity. My job is the Forest FMO and my day to day duties don’t allow that I be absent for the amount of time that it will take to complete the courses to meet this new requirement. I applied for this job, personnel reviewed my application and college transcripts, placed me on the list, I was selected for the position, and received a superior rating from my supervisor on my performance for the past year of work. My unit currently has a vacant AFMO position and there aren’t enough people to spread my duties on to carry out the workload requirement.

· Anything else you want to add about this situation?

I am undecided at this point what my course of action will be. I don’t see how the Agency can change the rules of the game in the middle and expect people to meet them. I submitted my documentation as requested and never received notification of my status. After being evaluated by the personnel shop to be considered for my current position I thought I sufficiently met all the requirements and have not pursued further education credits. It’s not that I don’t have an interest I just don’t have the time. Furthermore I fail to see how taking a required curriculum will better qualify me for my position that the 19 years of experience I have. I have always gained something useful from the courses I have taken over the years but the courses I took in college didn’t identify or teach me how to be a fire manager for the Forest Service. The questionnaire that I filled out with the job announcement asked what level of experience I had in fire management. I don’t see anywhere in the old or new requirements where people are getting any credit for this experience. If I were unable to perform my job at a satisfactory level I would expect to be required to meet the expectations or be removed from the job. I fail to see how additional education will enhance my performance when the courses I could choose to take don’t even have to pertain to fire management.

· Please describe how inability to meet education requirements with in-house coursework will affect your career advancement.

My long term goals are to continue to advance in the organization. If I have to meet additional requirements I will not have that opportunity.

· What effect does this issue have on your plans to stay and advance within the agency?

I have at least 6 years before I’m eligible for retirement. I plan to work until I reach age 57. Depending on the outcome of this requirement may dictate my longevity. The agency has invested many hours of training into me and I answer the call when my type 1 incident management team is needed and anytime my unit needs me no matter what time of the day, week or year. I have worked on every holiday, every one of my family members birthday, my anniversary, and several other special occasions because I felt it was what was expected for the investment. I feel that this requirement is above and beyond reasonable and that we are going to loose some of the dedication from our folks if we continue to jerk our employees around like this.

· Is your Forest having trouble filling GS-401 Fire Management Specialist positions? Are personnel leaving these positions?

Yes and Yes. With our aging workforce we are having trouble finding candidates that meet both requirements. The folks that meet the experience and qualification requirements don’t meet the education requirements. We have filled the last vacancies with the 462 series but under the new FSFPM will be required to convert to the 401 series. Conversely the folks that have applied that meet the education requirements do not have the field skills for the positions. This goes for the Regional level as well.

Finally, if you feel like getting on a soapbox, here's a few general questions:

· Does the GS-401 Fire Management Specialist education requirement have any impact on safety?

No. Safety is an attitude. I have witnessed as many unsafe acts from people with degrees as without. Formal education has very little bearing on how safety conscious a person is.

· Does it "professionalize" fire management?

It only adds a title. I have been involved with “technicians” and “professionals” titles throughout my career. In my experience the folks that have chosen fire management as a career are professional at what they do no matter what their educational background.

· If you could ask the Chief a question (and you knew OPM would hear about it), what would that question be?

Why are we spending this amount of time, money, and counter productive energy on this issue?

· Anything else? This is your chance to be heard.

We have a sound qualification system in place that requires the proper level of training and experience for each position used in incident management. Why can’t we agree on the minimum skill level by Incident Command System position for each position in the organization and move forward? We have cut positions since the National Fire plan hiring because of shrinking budgets. If we continue down this track we are on we will loose more employees and our ability to achieve fuels and presuppression projects.