Opportunities for Inquiry and Dialogue - Staff Rides

The intent of a staff ride is to put participants in the shoes of the decision makers on a historical incident to learn for the future. Staff rides are conducted on the actual ground where an incident or event happened.

A staff ride is more educational than training, but normally combines both aspects as an exceptionally effective experiential learning event.

A staff ride consists of three distinct phases:

• A systematic Preliminary Study of a selected fire, battlefield, or other high-risk incident.
• An extensive Field Study to the actual site(s) associated with the incident.
• An opportunity for Integration of the lessons derived from the study and visit.

Staff rides provide an opportunity to inquire and discuss both the art and science of firefighting. However, this requires maximum participant involvement before arrival and at the site to guarantee thoughtful analysis and discussion. Participants should also have enough fireground experience to have a context for understanding questions regarding leadership and decision-making. The study of leadership aspects in a staff ride transcend time and place.

[Click here to download Learning in the Wildland Fire Service.]