good gracious alive that is some of the driest mundane crap I have ever had to endure. I have done them all back in 2007, now we have to do them all over again. the whole lot of those boring rascals and don't get any credits for our LE state training although we did back in 2007.

Why are they making you do then again? What did you go up to? When they first came out I did 700, 800, 100, 200, 300 and 400. That's a lot of my life I'll never get back.

Seems like they just keep going over the same things over and over again. Then the test questions ask about the silliest, least important details relating to the important concepts. It's pure drudgery for sure. It's helpful to know the basic principals, but unless you expect to be in command of a large incident, you really don't need to know most of it.

I found a way I could print out some slides from the video presentation and then save them on my computer. So, I would print out the topic review slides as .pdfs and have them open as a separate window on my computer. After I had taken a few of the course, I never watched the videos - just skipped to the review slides, saved them as .pdfs, started the tests, and referred to the review slides for the answers to the test questions.

I just kept hitting "NEXT" and took the final. BAM, you are now an ESF4.

I sat threw all that crap when first came out thought my eyes would bleed. We had to do it so the department could show we were all trained supposedly like our neighbors. I believe then it allowed them to qualify and apply for state and federal grants? Just talked last night to a guy that is still working about training. He said they were doing so much stuff on the computers right now there was no hands on. I didn't ask what classes but would guess getting everyone back up to state and federal grant level.
I know they have a big push in my old dept to train guys for State Task Force. Be people from this dept joining with fire fighters from other dept, to say go to the flooding on east coast. WI Task Force 1 Urban Search & Rescue it's called. They have large group here right now people from all over the state. Thier hanging by ropes off the bluff training in search and rescue.
Bet everyone of them boys sat threw all them 100 threw whatever of those classes.
I know the really want to help, but I do believe it has more to do with getting money and equipment.


Mac

I had taken all of them, evidently something changed after 9-11 and then again after something in 2013. It is outrageous that if you sit in the EOC and man a position to make decisions then you have to take all of this junk that has nothing to do with what my role will be in the EOC. I can bet whoever said its about federal grants and other fed money hit the nail on the head. 07-05-2020 cant get here fast enough. I am walking away from this stuff. losing my hair clippers and razors. then gonna sit around sipping fine whiskey and cooking

Yep!

Just don't become an armchair expert on internet forums on how LE is supposed to be done.

I don't give two craps about how its done once I walk away.

I have lived it for 30years. I have the expert status and get the unfortunate task of testifying in court to such. Another thing I wouldn't do again if I had to, is take all of those classes to become or considered an expert in various areas. That is nothing but young person trying to do something special or ego boost. I am not for sure which one it was but it was a darn stupid thing on my behalf. I shall hereby declare I am no longer an expert in anything.

Rest easy brother!

Did the combat medic course last year that was interesting just needed a translator to figure out what the heck they were saying with all of the secret squirrel terms they were using!

Secret Squirrel Terms.. LOL I like that. Would that be young guys making up words for some old thing they think they they just invented?? LMAO!
One word that stuck in my craw right before I left fire service. We went from leaving the station Non-Emergency, say for broken water pipe. To going for the same broken water pipe call non-emergent???
Guess that cleared up some confusion in radio traffic shortened the transmission???
I'm no English major far from it. I couldn't figure out though how to not emerge from the station and still go to the call? If I'm in station does that make me pre-emergent?

I was so confused..

Will be retired from FD 4 years end of the month. Still working with vol county guys with water rescue stuff.
Thinking about hanging that up next year. Having hard time turning it all off.

Mac

Same concept as taking a generic $20 multi colored strobe flashlight then paint it black and rename it with an abbreviated word turns them into "tactical" lights in return ups the anti to $80+ for it. MAD I'll tell ya...

In all honesty, I will too Matchdriver. It isn't easy to walk away from something you have dedicated your entire adult life to doing. If I had to do it all over, I would do it all over again. I love the work. I love helping those who are old and being taken advantage of by punk druggies. I always worked on the north side of town, which is predominantly black folk. There are some awesome old black men and women that would do anything for you. It just irritates me that they cant sit on their front porch and sip coffee or a glass of tea due to all of the drug addicts and thugs. Its like they are living out their last years confined. These are salt of the earth folks and many of them retired from several industries that have sent China their jobs.