Response to NFFE Inquiry to the Field on GS-0401 FPM Log 45

In Response to NFFE Data call Request (3/19/08)

What is your Region and Forest?  Region 4

How many years have you been in fire?  19 years

What are your highest current red card quals?  FUM2, LTAN, DIVS, ATGS, ICT3, RXB2

Were you placed in a GS-401 Fire Management Specialist position after Feb. 15, 2005?  No.

 How many semester hours did you earn prior to learning of OPM's new rules? o 24

 How many were NWCG, TFM, USDA Grad, or college? o NWCG – 16 (12 upper division, 4 lower division) o College – 20 (6 upper division, 14 lower division)

 Did the agency certify you as qualified after you earned these semester hours? o I resubmitted my paper work after completing the final seven upper division credits I was short (REDACTED). Not a surprise, regional personnel dragged their feet and never responded regarding my conversion. In the meantime the new ruling indicating that NWCG courses wouldn’t count unless college accredited came to pass.

 If not, how many semester hours short were you? o I’m not sure at the moment as the rules appear to be fixed in jell-o, a moving target so to speak.

 How did your quals status change after the review under the new rules? o I thought I was there, but now I’m not and am not sure what I have to do to get there. Not only is this frustrating but it’s a huge distraction from the work we need to be doing, not to mention I’ll be retiring in a few short years.

 If short semester hours, how many now? o I don’t have a clue. Possibly 24?

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

1 Response to NFFE Inquiry to the Field on GS-0401 FPM Log 45

o No, I might possibly have to go to a university to complete a four year major. Please see the above two responses.

 How do you plan to meet this new requirement? o I don’t have a clue since the requirement still hasn’t been defined clearly, and the clock is ticking.

 Is it practically do-able? o Even with clear direction at this stage I don’t believe there’s enough time left before the 2009 deadline.

 Please describe how this has affected you personally and also effects on your unit. o Again, the frustration level and distraction are beyond belief. Folks are so consumed with trying to meet the deadline that our real work is not being done.

 Are you or anyone you know about planning to bag the thing? o I’m not sure what’s meant by “bag the thing”, but this whole process has significantly increased my stress level and is very depressing. Compound this with those features from my normal job and this is not a good situation. I have too many years in and am too close to retirement to quit. I’m at a point of just trying to survive, not to aspire.

 Anything else you want to add about this situation? o This whole process has been nothing but a self inflicted wound to our agency and we’re bleeding to death. This hasn’t improved us in any way, shape or form. This hasn’t made one person a better firefighter or a fire manager. For one hundred plus years we’ve fought the nation’s wildland fires. For the most part, we’ve done it as technicians. I have been fighting fires myself for nearly 30 years. Regardless of what OPM or our own personnel office thinks, I am a professional, a professional firefighter. Besides wasting huge sums of money on unneeded training and college classes to help folks meet the “401 requirements”, and the amount of time these individuals have and will spend away from their home unit trying to meet the “401 requirements”, this is a huge disservice to their home unit since they aren’t there to do their real jobs. We have also sent vast numbers of folks to classes for “401 credits”. Classes that have no application to their job or future job. We have taken up slots in those classes that would be otherwise used by the individuals who actually would apply the information to their job, but were considered a lower priority because their position was not identified as a 401 series position. Our training program is going down the pipe as a result. We’re sending bunches of folks to training but are we sending the right folks for the right reason?

Is your Forest having trouble filling GS-401 Fire Management Specialist positions?

 Our forest is having trouble filling any positions including fire with the current state of or HCM in Albuquerque, NM. For positions specifically 401series, the candidate pool is extremely small and very limited regarding qualified individuals. They may meet the educational requirements but often lack the qualifications and experience. The 462 series generally provides candidates needed for our fire jobs with the skills and experience necessary.

 Are personnel leaving these positions? o Not at this time. We did have a District AFMO leave for a job with Calfire, but the position he vacated was a 462 series.

Finally, if you feel like getting on a soapbox, here's a few more

 Does the GS-401 Fire Management Specialist education requirement have any impact on safety?  It may should someone qualified on paper become a supervisor solely on certificates and degrees, and not on the common sense and experience that it takes to make someone a good firefighter or fire manager.

 Does it "professionalize" fire management?  No, it doesn’t do anything to legitimize firefighters or fire managers as fire professionals. If this was truly about professionalizing the fire organization, it would start with the NWCG courses at the core including fire suppression, and then supplement as needed with college courses, which seldom address the real world of wildland fire. The way the program is currently setup is b**s ackwards. Even before this there should be a fire professional series since it affects such a significant portion of our workforce, not try to use the 401 series for something it doesn’t fit. This is the classic of trying to put a square peg in a round hole, a very large square peg.

I retire in 2014. In order to meet the 401 series, I’ve wasted and will continue to waste a great deal of time, energy and agency funding just to retire in the less than six years. Instead of forcing folks who are so close to retirement to make this conversion, with no benefit to the agency what so ever, why not allow them to finish their career as technicians if they desire. Then when the job is flown for their replacement, fly it as 401 if that is what the agency desires. We ask the question why people are retiring in droves and wonder why we have less and less seasoned veterans in our fire management program, the “401 series Mandate”, is one of the main reasons. Most of the “old timers” aren’t worried about going to Calfire for a better deal. They’re just finding it difficult to deal with this mandate and see no reason to put up with the b.s. or to stay any longer.

 If you could ask the Chief a question (and you knew OPM would hear about it), what would that question be?  We need a firefighter or fire professional series. The 401 series will not get us there as we are seeing. Also consider my comment about allowing incumbents to remain in their 462 series if they wish, if they plan to retire within the next ten years. Then convert the position on its next announcement. Don’t can the folks with the knowledge, skills and background to continue to carry the agency’s fire management program forward, simply because they haven’t met the preconceived notion that OPM has for what a fire professional’s education should be. We are fire professionals. We always have been.