by Jack Lee
Containment and mop-up are the buzzwords heard most often at our Mobilization Office this week. The scuttlebutt is, at least for our part, that we will be drawing down our personal to a minimum of staff to finish off the de-mob part. This is all good news for Californians and despite the fact we’ve barely entered the traditional “fire season”.
Since the start of the lightenig fires the Guard has prepared over 2000 soldiers to go into action when and where needed. So far, only about half this number have been sent in to battle fires, but they are all ready to go should things take a turn for the worse.
Back at our headquarters at the Joint Forces mega-complex, routine life is mixed with emergency fire duties. It was my privilege to be part of the awards presentation team during our early morning formation where we recognized some of the special accomplishments of our military fire fighters. One of those receiving a Meritorious Service Award was a Captain from our medical team who devised a new system to reduce infections from poisonous plants frequently encountered on the fire lines. Infection rates dropped by over 60% thanks to his initiative and medical creativity. This is the kind of inspiration that comes from soliders responding to a crisis…and you know, it doesn’t really matter if it’s here over overseas in places like Iraq, this is just what Americans do best. We’re creative people. We always rise to the occassion. You should take a great deal of consolation just knowing we’ve got a lot this backup!
This looks like it will be my last trip to my old Mobilization office. I look back to the opening days when we were just spinning up; there was this rush to do everything immediately and this resulted in a certain amount of chaos too, but that just has to be expected. Even the greatest battle plans get radically changed the moment they are initiated…it’s a “Murphys Law” kind of reality and it has always been that way.
But, the important thing is it all got done as promised. So our part has been a success and we feel pretty good about that. When you work 12-14 hour shifts with 6-7 soldiers in a 12X18 office you become fast friends because you have to rely on each other for so many things. And in the crowded office I worked with a lot of great men and women, like Mike the LAPD officer, his father was the first black man to serve on the Orange County fire department. Fred was a former helmsman on a nuclear sub. Harris just got out of basic and he says he wants to go to OCS now. Kathleen is normally a postal clerk and so it goes. These are your reservists, some young, some older, but all doing their part.
Now let’s keep our fingers crossed that we get through the rest of the fire season with a minimum of flare-ups and new starts. I really liked working with those guys down there, but I really don’t need to spend any more time living out of a hotel room!