Photo By Sgt. Salvatore Ottaviano | Capt. Jon Every-Clayton, a volunteer firefighter who serves full-time as...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. – Some men pursue their dream to be a firefighter; some choose the path of military service as their life’s mission; some favor being a “family man” as their course in life.
Now and again, an exception like Capt. Jon Every-Clayton plunges into all three of these self-sacrificing endeavors.
Every-Clayton serves full-time as officer-in-charge of the Soldier Readiness Improvement Program administered by the Army Reserve’s 99th Readiness Division headquartered here.
While enjoying the challenges of his job at the 99th RD, Every-Clayton leads another life volunteering as a firefighter for more than 26 years with the Moorestown Fire Department.
Recently, fire chiefs here at the JBMDL Fire Department needed back-up firefighters to “cover down” for their crew for the day. They reached out to local civilian fire chiefs – and that’s when Every-Clayton got the call to duty as part of the crew at McGuire Fire Station 1.
Every-Clayton says volunteering with the JBMDL Fire Department is an honor.
“It’s good to communicate, exchange stories, see their equipment, to learn and talk to each other, and take care of each other,” the Baltimore native said.
He also noted that while stationed here with the Army Reserve, it’s not every day that he gets the chance to work on the McGuire side of base with service members in another military branch.
“They say in the military, ‘One Team, One Fight,’ and right here [in the firehouse] it’s a brotherhood, it’s a strong brotherhood,” he said.
Air Force Master Sgt. Brian Martenis of the 87th Civil Engineer Fire Department, who works at McGuire Fire Station 1, explained that the 87th CEFD goes into civilian communities on a variety of calls to assist local fire departments, which helps their firefighters get well-rounded in their skills.
“We go off-base quite often and help our mutual partners quite often, and that gives a lot of the firefighters here on base a breadth of experience,” he said. “We have an outstanding working relationship with our off-base partners. We enjoy working with our neighbors. It’s a good time to get face time and show each other the equipment, prepare rigs, exchange war stories - that’s always part of the fun.”
Every-Clayton explained why he serves in civilian life as well as the military.
“I was supposed to be a ‘smokejumper,’ but I got injured on a jump,” he explained. Smokejumpers are specially trained wildland firefighters who provide an initial attack response on remote wildland fires. They are inserted at the site of the fire by parachute.
As a result of the injury, he wasn’t able to attend the school for smoke-jumping skills.
“When I stopped jumping out of planes, I needed another rush, so this is the next best thing,” he said. “I came to New Jersey and became a volunteer firefighter, and the rest is history.”
Every-Clayton said that on some fires, he could see how a disaster was narrowly prevented and a family or potential victim of a fire was relieved to be rescued by him or his firefighting crew.
“It’s a very good [sense of satisfaction] if you could avoid anything, whether it’s a small fire or a tragedy. We were at a house fire at 3:30 this morning. Other departments were at the fire as well…just another tragic situation involving a family,” he said. “It’s community service, taking care of each other – whether it’s in uniform or in the service, it’s about taking care of each other.”
He also proudly serves as a husband and father of four children, raising his family and watching them grow as people.
“They’re all passions of mine, all three – the [two] jobs and the family. It’s enough, y’know? Four kids…it keeps me busy,” he said as his smile turned into a chuckle.
| Date Taken: | 01.29.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 02.22.2022 12:25 |
| Story ID: | 415049 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Web Views: | 737 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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