Ramstein hosts advanced fire protection course

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jonathan Hehnly
  • 911th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany --  Eighteen firefighters from across  U.S. Air Forces in Europe gathered here for a 10-day advanced fire protection course, starting May 4, 2015.

Two instructors from the Louis F. Garland Department of Defense Fire Academy mobile training team, Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, traveled to Germany to hold the Fire Officer III course for select military and civilian firefighters.

The Fire Officer III certification course provides mid-level supervisors the education and training necessary to prepare them for the role of assistant chief of operations.

"This course is an absolute must," said Mark Cutler, the health and safety officer for the 423rd Civil Engineer Squadron, Royal Air Forces, Alconbury, United Kingdom. "Without this training, I could not be an assistant chief of operations or incident commander. I feel extremely lucky to be here."

The highly competitive course, accredited by the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress, is only offered a few times a year. The joint-service training is offered four times in-residence at Goodfellow AFB, Texas and two times a year through the mobile training team.

The mobile training team travels to regional host sites to conduct courses, rather than flying students from all over the world to Goodfellow. Having two instructors travel to a regional host site is more cost effective for the Air Force as opposed to having 18 students travel to Texas.

"The mobile training team is designed to save the Air Force money," said Michael DeJacomo, a mobile training team instructor. "It was also much easier for the students to get here from USAFE."

For two weeks, Ramstein Air Base acted as a regional host site for staff sergeants, technical sergeants, and several civilians from Air Force installations spanning Germany, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.


"It has been a really smooth transition for the mobile training team," said Master Sgt. Michael Champion, NCOIC of the Fire Officer III course, 312th Training Squadron, Ramstein Air Base. "Ramstein has been a great host. We have everything we need to complete the training."