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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on February 9, 2011 at 8:45pm

i'm intrested in the MOS for firefighters in the army though there seems to be
no officer input on the MOS. If anyone knows of the MOS title and knows how
i can try to combine my two goals for my next few times. My main 2 goals would
be to become a firefighter civilian after my 6 years of service in the military


So, are you looking to enlist, or are you looking to be an officer? If looking to enlist, I believe for the Army, the minimum time may still be 2 years, otherwise it is 4 years, not six. Officers, otoh, do have a six year minimum commission. Thing is you can not do both, you can not be an officer and hold an MOS, there could be a chance you are in command of such a group of personnel, but the chance of that is very, very slim. Officers really don't have specialties, unless going infor something like medical, supply, legal, etc, otherwise a line officer could be placed anywhere.

If looking to enlist, you may have a chance at such an MOS for firefighter, but the word is there are not too many opportunities to do so. Most base fire depts are operated by federal firefighters, not military.

If looking to serve, you can still do so and it doesn't have to be a firefighter specific job. Vet points are good to have for a civil service test and one should take advantage of college opportunities while serving. Basically even if you do get a FF MOS, don't depend on that alone to open the civilian fire dept doors for you, education is still important and may be even more so in the future. Look at getting college credits while serving and look to going to school if deciding to get out to get a degree, also look into getting paramedic.

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Permalink Reply by Marvin Hawk on February 9, 2011 at 9:46pm

I can not speak for the Army but my son is thinking of going into the service as a firefighter, (which just about kills his Marine Father) We have found that it is a difficult field to get into as a lot of the Stateside bases are going to Federal/ Dept of Defense Fire Departments. However my reason for him to go with the Air Force is that they are about the only service that still does all areas of firefighting not just ARFF. Because the Air Force was unwilling to guarantee him his choice of job he is looking also at College to get a degree in Fire Science/Emergency Management. As far as to some of the comments about vet points helping with civil service tests you may want to look into what your home state qualifies as a veteran. Should you join now you should be good to go as you will probably be considered as a Iraq/Afghanistan vet. But those of us that served during the Cold War years ( After Vietnam before Bosnia/Iraq1)we have found out how ungrateful a nation can be.

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Permalink Reply by Alexander Korsunsky on February 9, 2011 at 11:24pm

thank you very much i definitly agree i'm working on getting my 3rd bacheolor degrees

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Permalink Reply by Stephen Gilbert on February 10, 2011 at 3:41am

I did some firefighting in Iraq over a year ago. Most of the military bases were useing WSI for their firefighting operations. The only MIlitary firefighters were ARFF at air bases. When I tried enlisting over 10 years ago I was told that it took a act of congress to get into a firefighting position because they military would rather use civis with PRO-Board certifications with a DOD background. Good luck with your endeverse.

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Permalink Reply by Alexander Korsunsky on February 10, 2011 at 7:42am

thank you stephen i am beginning to see a lot that civis are being used to fill up the positions though its first time i heard them requesting an act of congress i only heard that if you would like to join the academy of the airforce for trying aquire their firefighting position

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Permalink Reply by Alexander Korsunsky on February 10, 2011 at 7:48am

1. You are correct in saying i am only an explorer, it was bad grammar on my part on the field by saying "on getting my 3rd bacheolor degrees" i was agreeing in the statement that i should focus on education as stated by crabbe by saying on how i'm working on how to get 3 of the bacheolor degrees in the school i have chosen.
2. Communication is a great skill to have only wish i had it better when tired
thanks jm for the correction

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Permalink Reply by Alexander Korsunsky on February 10, 2011 at 7:49am

thank you for the reply perhyn

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Permalink Reply by lang on February 10, 2011 at 1:52pm

Another Penalty flag on the Field. It doesn't take an act of congress to get a fire fighting job in the military. Your best shot would be going Air Force for a fighting job. Army military firefighting slots are few and far between. There is maybe about 2 or 3 military slots for firefighters at Army Posts. If your dead set on being a fire fighter in the service, talk with the recruiter about it. If you go Air Force don't let him talk you into going open general, make sure it says fire protection. You may have to wait for a long time to get it but you'll be guaranteed the job. Talk with the recruiter about your options and go from there if you have any other questions on it let me know. Before anyone starts on where I get my information I've been an Air Force firefighter for over 5 years now.

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Permalink Reply by Robert Clark on February 10, 2011 at 3:44pm

I'm in the Army and to give you a heads that the mos 21M is getting nixed they are weeding the MOS out do to civ are starting to take over the job i know i had a buddy that was a 21M and they made him change his MOS.

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Permalink Reply by Alexander Korsunsky on February 10, 2011 at 5:16pm

isn't it necessary though for the academy of the air force for a congressional recommendation for certain positions in the air force not including specifically the fire field.

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Permalink Reply by Alexander Korsunsky on February 10, 2011 at 5:17pm

thank you for the reply clark

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Permalink Reply by Alexander Korsunsky on February 10, 2011 at 5:21pm

Thank you for all the great responses for the subject
it seems that the army will decide not to have its own
fire protection service but instead use its civilian firefighters
I don't mind too much though because I am in the belief
that if i am to go into the army i will do it with or without firefighting
and to head into becoming an infantry officer hopefully in the front
to protect all that matter and to command the great men that
help protect this country again thanks to all for the great replies.

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