Photo By Lance Cpl. Rylan Adcock | United States Marine Corps expeditionary firefighting and rescue specialists with...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan - Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni Fire and Emergency Services (FES) and MCAS Iwakuni Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) were recently recognized as the winners of the 2023 United States Marine Corps Medium Fire Department of the Year award.
“Our department competed against all the U.S. Marine Corps bases for the medium sized department based on performance over the year,” said John Neville, the FES Chief for MCAS Iwakuni. Each year, the Marine Corps evaluates each and every FES and ARFF department and chooses winners within each size category based on their sustained performance throughout the previous year.
For the second consecutive year, MCAS Iwakuni FES came out on top in their category. They pride themselves on their safety and the consistent accomplishment of their mission.
“The award goes to the Marine Corps first, and then the winners of the Marine Corps compete at the Department of Defense level,” explained Neville. “Last year, we did win the USMC and the DoD level. This year, we only won one, but we still have a back-to-back [win] within the Marine Corps.”
Despite not winning at the DoD level, Neville is thrilled with the outcome and gives a majority of the credit to his team and to the professionalism they exhibit. The rest of the credit, he believes, belongs to others even outside the fire department, who all contributed to their continued success.
“It's a testament to the guys that we have here,” Neville proclaimed. “The constant professionalism that they bring to the table every day makes our department highly ethical and very proficient. This department is highly respectful and hugely responsible. They incorporate integrity in everything that they do and they take great ownership with that.”
Much like MCAS Iwakuni FES, ARFF exhibits a similar degree of professionalism each and every day. “Our operations shift conducts crew change overs, inspects gear, conducts daily cardio and strength training, prepares meals,” says Master Sergeant Devin Meyers, the ARFF Deputy Fire Chief, “and they do all that while they are working 48-72 hours depending on the shift that they are on.”
From the top down, the members of ARFF and FES are invested in their Marines and firefighters and their well-being. This includes supporting the Marines and firefighters, allowing failure to be a part of the learning process, pushing each other to complete career milestones, seeking additional learning opportunities, and allowing for cross training. Neville believes that the secret to their success lies in a few key areas, not the least of which includes being self-aware and honest.
“I feel that we simply try not to hide our shortcomings and [instead] put it out there on display for everybody,” Neville said. “We ask ‘what’s wrong?’ and ‘what’s right?’with what we do every day. The intention is making everything right even better, and making everything wrong right. As a department, we walk the walk and talk the talk.”
Although FES and ARFF typically respond to emergencies on base, they are prepared for a wide array of potential incidents, whether it’s on the installation or off. By regularly training with the Iwakuni City Fire Department and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force units, the base is ready to work with its Japanese counterparts at a moment’s notice.
Even though they may not all speak the same language, the fire departments have established a positive professional relationship that allows them to overcome these difficulties while still performing at an exceptionally high level.
“There's a lot of things, from both an American and Japanese standpoint, that are really good, that we try to incorporate,” Neville said. MCAS Iwakuni FES and ARFF, alongside the Iwakuni City Fire Department and JMSDF, use their differences as strengths to not only accomplish their shared missions, but to strengthen their bond while doing it. “As for the people, if you're a firefighter, there's a commonality between you regardless of where you're from. On the same aspect, the cultural differences in work camaraderie that the Japanese culture brings to the table is a breath of fresh air and a little bit different than what you would see from the U.S. side of the house. Regardless, if you're a firefighter from either country, you speak firefighter lingo.”
Ronald Grajeda, the FES Fire Prevention Officer, states that this is true even within FES itself. “We all are committed to the home, making this place better than when we got it and putting in a system for the guys that are Japanese because that's predominantly who we have here as firefighters. In fact, all we have here [at MCAS Iwakuni FES] are Japanese firefighters.”
One aspect of making FES better than when they found it involves implementing new evaluation methods and finding ways to innovate.
“Part of the accreditation process is new improvement methods that are provided by what we call program evaluations and program appraisals,” explained Neville. “We identify gaps and areas of improvement that we need to overcome, edit, or mitigate in order to continually improve and provide the best level of emergency service care that we can for this installation.”
MCAS Iwakuni FES and ARFF strive to not only have the safest departments, but to also work tirelessly to exceed the standard every day so they can provide the right service at the right time with the right personnel.
“You can see that the level of ownership that they have within the organization is a huge benefit. There is a culture within fire services that is along the lines of, if you're a firefighter, there's a commonality between you and others,” said Neville.
Neville and Meyers hold the MCAS Iwakuni FES and ARFF departments to a high standard, never cutting any corners and ensuring that they are operating at the top level. There are no shortcuts worth any costs in the world of firefighting, where stakes can be so high, and the firefighters of FES and ARFF deeply understand the magnitude of their role to protect the installation and community and the importance of doing it the right way.
“At the end of the day, it's a team effort between the internal structure within the fire department, the leadership of MCAS Iwakuni, our agency partners with the medical, provost marshal's office, ARFF, and Iwakuni city. Without the collaborative efforts between us all, this probably wouldn't be possible,” stated Neville.
| Date Taken: | 05.31.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.06.2024 02:53 |
| Story ID: | 473198 |
| Location: | MCAS IWAKUNI, YAMAGUCHI, JP |
| Web Views: | 83 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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