Staff Rides We Need Your Help Please (Maybe you need ours...)

 

Blue Ribbon Staff Ride, Florida Forest Service

Have you heard of a local staff ride? Been to one? In my experience, it seems the term staff ride is tied to places or events we have all heard of. Fact is many staff rides have been built for local events many of us may not be familiar with. I say event, because again, they all differ and can be about almost anything.

During this year’s campaign we sharpened the staff ride portion of the toolbox. Staff rides came up during the week of remembrance, and yet again as we discussed experiential learning. Basically, staff rides are intertwined and ingrained in our culture, and for good reason. Therefore, we come to you with a request and an offer—a from-the-field-for-the-field staff ride development collaboration.  

Why staff rides?

Staff rides can help your family (organization) learn, grow, heal, help families of our fallen, share lessons, honor, remember, include, build new relationships and strengthen existing ones, and perhaps leave a lasting legacy of those we honor.

Interested?

Do you have an idea for a project (fire, battle, or event; we, Florida Forest Service, did) and don’t know how to get it to be a staff ride (we didn’t)? Embarking on staff ride development can feel like you’re preparing to climb Everest (or at least that is how we felt), but with help all things are possible.

We are looking for teams to bring their projects to the workshop so we can help them build their/our staff rides.

So, You Want to Climb Everest

Training

You do not have to create a staff ride on your own; there is assistance available. The Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program (WFLDP) and the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center (LLC) created and support two national staff ride development workshops (NSRDWs)—one on the East Coast in January; the other on the West Coast in February. Florida Forest Service was fortunate to have been chosen to attend a 2017 NSRDW-East to develop the Blue Ribbon Staff Ride.

What Do You Need for the Adventure?

In order to achieve success, you need the following:

·       Equipment – Gather all your source materials that support your project. We had a box full of photos, reports, ideas, notes, and it was pretty scattered.

·       Expedition Team Members – This is not a solo mission. Select individuals who have the same goals as you do. Your entire team will attend the workshop with you.

·       Oxygen and Energy (Passion). Passion will drive your team and make for a successful NSRDW.

·       Commitment – The window for this expedition is limited. If you aren’t committed, the chances of reaching your goal are diminished and resources lost. Team members and agencies must be committed to seeing the project through to completion and learning practices integrated into organizational culture.

Preparation for the Adventure – The Preliminary Study Phase

Before you head to the mountain, you should prepare for the journey.

·       Review the Wildland Fire Staff Ride Guide.

o   Become familiar with staff ride history.

o   Understand the three phases of the staff ride process.

o   Determine your “why.”

·       Determine the objectives and intent of your staff ride.

o   Look at learning themes that will help you accomplish your goals.

o   Brainstorm ideas that can be expanded or modified.

o   Be open-minded and creative. (We don’t do an integration dinner on the Blue Ribbon Staff Ride [insert dramatic pause here]; we do a breakfast (we like breakfast). This is your ride; do what works for you.

Base Camp

When you arrive at base camp/the workshop, you will be assigned Sherpas (we had LLC/NPS Sherpa Travis Dotson, WFLDP/USFS Sherpa Shane Olpin as expedition leads along with OMNA SMEs) who will be your staff ride development guides.

Time at base camp is critical to acclimating yourself to the staff ride environment. You, your team, and other teams of climbers will learn about the structured parts of staff ride development, how to move from the classroom to the field, and how staff rides are delivered—all with an eye on how you will be building and delivering your own.

Climbing Everest – Field Study Phase

Once acclimated, your expedition team will lead you up the mountain (conduct a site visit of an established staff ride). This experience is tailored to focus climbers on the mechanics of facilitating a staff ride and the tools available to develop their own.

Preparing for the Summit – Integration Phase

You’ve made it to Assault Camp. You and your fellow teams are ready to attempt the short, but crowded, ascent to the top. Your team, with the help of your Sherpas, will “bring all the parts together.” You will take your materials, knowledge from the preliminary and field study phases, impressions, and lessons learned and build your staff ride. Just as at Hillary’s Step, there is a lot going on and only a short time to reach the summit and even shorter time to experience the summit itself. You will be exhausted from the journey, but what lies ahead is worth all the time, money, and effort your have put into this moment. With flag in your hand and much teamwork, you are ready to reach the summit and take your memories back to your home unit.

The Journey Down the Mountain

One might think that the journey up the mountain is the hardest; getting down from the mountain and assimilating back into society can be difficult. Once you leave Everest, the journey is yours. You and your agency will maintain and grow the ride; however, you are not alone.

The team you arrived with at base camp is not the same team you will be leaving with. The mentors that helped you build your ride (MGysgt Dominic Green, LtCol Eric Carlson USMC Ret/OMNA, we appreciate you) will be there for you, as will the WFLDP and LLC. You will also have other teams that built rides when you did. You collaborated a lot during your time together, learned about each other’s rides, bounced ideas, etc.  We are in this together.

Beyond those in your expedition are those who made the journey before you or those who will come after you. Amazing things are happening across the wildland fire service with existing rides, revitalizing built rides, and wanting to create new ones. Thank you to all who support the staff ride initiative. The adventure has just begun.

"The most important thing in climbing is the inner strength to help each other, so that not just the strongest but all the members of the group reach the goal." - Ida Hiroshige

Next Steps

Next year the WFLDP will be 20 years young. We have taken an entire year to prepare for our anniversary by “sharpening our tools.” Do you have a staff ride idea? Do you have an existing ride in need of support?

We had significant challenges last year, but we plan to do the workshops this year. Our goal is to select 20 projects (split evenly between the east and west). Several units have shown interest in the past. If we get more than 20 projects, we will establish a wait list and work with teams to prepare for future workshops.

If you have a project or we can assist you in any way please contact us at BLM_FA_Leadership_Feedback@blm.gov.

For formal information on staff rides, visit https://www.nwcg.gov/wfldp/toolbox/staff-ride.