Shaffer
03-26-04, 09:32 PM
AL ASAD, Iraq(March 25, 2004) -- There is a long-standing, unwritten rivalry between the different services of the American armed forces, but one thing is certain; everyone is fighting on the same team, for the same reasons.
The Marine Wing Support Squadron 273 Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting technicians and the Army's 767 Engineer Team from the Iowa National Guard work together to show how a little teamwork can help protect an area as large as Al Asad, Iraq.
This team of firefighters has been trained at the same school in Texas but go on to learn how their branch of the service deals with fire emergencies.
For Chief Warrant Officer 2 Brian S. Becker and his crew of Marines, this is somewhat of a new experience.
"We are integrating the Marines with the Army to cross-train them," said the 33-year-old Miramar, Fla., native. "We are mutually supporting agencies; we would support them in the event of a structure fire, and they would support us in the event of an airfield incident.
"In the meantime, we are sending one Marine team with the Army to learn how to battle structural fires, and the Army has sent a team to learn aircraft, rescue and firefighting," he added.
According to another senior member of the ARFF crew, Master Sgt. Michael F. Derobertis, a 39-year-old Island Park, N.Y., native, the Army has an advantage over the Marines when it comes to battling structure fires because the Marines mainly deal with airfield operations.
"Cross-training the Marines and the soldiers together will give everyone the advantage," he said. "We (Marines) will give the Army the chance to have a presence on the airfield while the Army will give the Marines a chance to be seen around the base camps."
According to Marines and soldiers standing watch on the flightline and inside the firehouse, there is a mutual respect between the two services' firefighters.
Lance Cpl. Graham J. Strebler, an MWSS-273 crash crewman from Rolling Meadows, Ill., has enjoyed the training they have conducted and believes the two services are working together well.
"I have worked with the Air Force in the past," said the 19 year old. "We can benefit from the Army's knowledge of firefighting. Even though the surroundings are different, this is adding resources to the Marine Corps while we need them the most."
For one soldier, Pfc. Adam J. Warner, a 21-year-old firefighter with the 767 Engineer Team, the experience is very positive.
"You get the mixture of the services instead of the inter-service rivalry," said the Des Moines, Iowa, native. "We do things differently as firefighters than the Marines, but we all work together."
Another soldier, Spc. Brett A. Almburg, said his experience as a civilian firefighter is helping him train the Marines.
"It's a good thing we are working together," said the 26-year-old Ottumwa, Iowa, native. "The Marines are primarily trained in ARFF, and most of the Army National Guardsmen are civilian firefighters when we are not on active duty. We have a lot of experience in extrication and structural firefighting and we can teach each other about our separate jobs."
For Marine Staff Sgt. Curtis P. Delpesh, he knows that things can be difficult, but the Marines and soldiers are working things out fine.
"We have our different methods of how to do things," said the 31-year-old Naples, Fla., native. "The Marines have a different response time to a crash than the Army, but we are working together on how to come to a mutual agreement."
In February, more than 650 MWSS-273 Marines deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II and the global war on terrorism.
The Marine Wing Support Squadron 273 Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting technicians and the Army's 767 Engineer Team from the Iowa National Guard work together to show how a little teamwork can help protect an area as large as Al Asad, Iraq.
This team of firefighters has been trained at the same school in Texas but go on to learn how their branch of the service deals with fire emergencies.
For Chief Warrant Officer 2 Brian S. Becker and his crew of Marines, this is somewhat of a new experience.
"We are integrating the Marines with the Army to cross-train them," said the 33-year-old Miramar, Fla., native. "We are mutually supporting agencies; we would support them in the event of a structure fire, and they would support us in the event of an airfield incident.
"In the meantime, we are sending one Marine team with the Army to learn how to battle structural fires, and the Army has sent a team to learn aircraft, rescue and firefighting," he added.
According to another senior member of the ARFF crew, Master Sgt. Michael F. Derobertis, a 39-year-old Island Park, N.Y., native, the Army has an advantage over the Marines when it comes to battling structure fires because the Marines mainly deal with airfield operations.
"Cross-training the Marines and the soldiers together will give everyone the advantage," he said. "We (Marines) will give the Army the chance to have a presence on the airfield while the Army will give the Marines a chance to be seen around the base camps."
According to Marines and soldiers standing watch on the flightline and inside the firehouse, there is a mutual respect between the two services' firefighters.
Lance Cpl. Graham J. Strebler, an MWSS-273 crash crewman from Rolling Meadows, Ill., has enjoyed the training they have conducted and believes the two services are working together well.
"I have worked with the Air Force in the past," said the 19 year old. "We can benefit from the Army's knowledge of firefighting. Even though the surroundings are different, this is adding resources to the Marine Corps while we need them the most."
For one soldier, Pfc. Adam J. Warner, a 21-year-old firefighter with the 767 Engineer Team, the experience is very positive.
"You get the mixture of the services instead of the inter-service rivalry," said the Des Moines, Iowa, native. "We do things differently as firefighters than the Marines, but we all work together."
Another soldier, Spc. Brett A. Almburg, said his experience as a civilian firefighter is helping him train the Marines.
"It's a good thing we are working together," said the 26-year-old Ottumwa, Iowa, native. "The Marines are primarily trained in ARFF, and most of the Army National Guardsmen are civilian firefighters when we are not on active duty. We have a lot of experience in extrication and structural firefighting and we can teach each other about our separate jobs."
For Marine Staff Sgt. Curtis P. Delpesh, he knows that things can be difficult, but the Marines and soldiers are working things out fine.
"We have our different methods of how to do things," said the 31-year-old Naples, Fla., native. "The Marines have a different response time to a crash than the Army, but we are working together on how to come to a mutual agreement."
In February, more than 650 MWSS-273 Marines deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II and the global war on terrorism.