HARRY R. CARTER, Ph.D., MIFireE

The other evening I accidentally got to spend some quality time listening to one of my personal heroes. While I was searching for one of my Saturday night favorites on Delaware Public Television, The Lawrence Welk Show, I stumbled across a very great person, doing what he does best. Colonel David Hackworth was discussing the many problems of America’s military forces on C-Span 2. I guess I have given away the secrets of my soul. I watch public television, and I like Lawrence Welk.

As always, I was impressed by the insight he presented. What a rare man of vision and conviction he is. Many have forgotten his initial entry into the public eye. Back in 1971 he spoke out against the way the Vietnam War was being fought. And he committed the great military sin of doing it on national television. Not a great career enhancement move, as the Army doesn’t like its Colonels telling people that we are going to lose a war. It is very bad for business. However Colonel Hackworth was fed up with the military and its approach to war. However, that did not stop him. He felt that people were dying because of bureaucratic stupidity. And he felt that his actions were the morally correct thing to do.

While he has many like me who appreciate his thoughts, his ideas are perceived as extreme by many, bordering on blasphemy in some quarters. But so it is with each person who steps forward and utters that age old statement made famous in that old fairy tale, The Emperor’s New Set of Clothes. "New clothes hell… that guy’s butt naked," or words to that effect.

Here are some of the ideas I heard in ten short minutes:

The people at the top forget why the joined in the first place? (Duty, Honor, Country)

Let’s do away with the Air Force. Do not send people in planes to shot at other people. Send missiles.

Let’s combine the Army and the Marines into one entity to be called, for want of a better name, the ground forces.

Do away with the M-1 Abrams main battle tank. It is too heavy for most bridges in the world, and we don’t have aircraft that can deliver it in a completely battle-ready condition.

Now those are some thoughts that go well beyond the box of current military thinking. But there is merit to thinking beyond what we currently know and do. Where would the fire service be without people like the late Lloyd Layman, the late John T. O’Hagan, the late Bill Clark, Ron Coleman, Alan Brunacini, and Frank Brannigan? They have made history in our business by asking the big "what if" type of questions. They were thought provoking and controversial at the outset, but now they are the standard by which we judge new ideas.

Colonel Hackworth went on to state that we always seem to be fighting the next war with the theories and technologies of the last war. He stated that the Gulf War was probably an exception to this rule.

And how many people still use high-pressure booster lines and 2-1/2" supply hoselines? How many people still subject new personnel to hazing? How many fire chiefs think that women belong at home cooking, cleaning and raising children? How many people cling to the comfortable past, even when it threatens the health and safety of your personnel? Oh these things can’t still be happening in the year 2000. Do you want to bet on that?

Back to the Colonel. I sat absolutely spellbound as he spoke of the need to completely reorganize the military forces of the United States. His treatise was simple. The American Military cannot go on as it has since the time of George Washington. (Except they added the Air Force in 1947)

However, he also stated an extremely important point. The key to success in any reorganization effort would require a truly visionary leader, not afraid to trample on tradition. He cited the example of the late General of the Army George C. Marshall. It was Marshall who fired a great many of the old-line generals and brought in people like Eisenhower, Bradley, and others who were majors and lieutenant colonels at the outbreak of World War II. These were people who interpret the vision of a Marshall and make it come to life.

You must remember that Marshall’s vision was not limited to military matters. After the end of the war, it was Secretary of State George C. Marshall who gave vision, substance, and life to a document that we now celebrate as the Marshall Plan for the redevelopment of post-war Europe. His vision spanned the gulf between war and peace. And his vision for a newly revitalized Europe is still celebrated today. And his rewards involved the Nobel Prize for Peace.

Was the Alan Brunacini that I met back in Cincinnati during the 1976 a visionary? You bet. He talked about some of the basic truths in strategy and tactics that later evolved into his Fire Command text. He spoke of comparisons with the military. And he shared his hopes for a changing fire service. And a lot of his ideas have become the standards to which we now adhere. Who else was talking about customer service just a few, short years ago?

By now, you might be thinking, what is the point of Harry’s history lesson? It is really quite simple. Like Hackworth, I think that I see a few things in my field of endeavor that are flat out wrong. The difference is quite simple. My observations lie within my field of expertise, which is the fire service and his observations deal with the America Military.

Oh there is another really important difference between he and I. He is a war hero, with a brilliant mind and a proven record of heroism. He is the holder of just about every award for valor and service that our great land can bestow. And like my late father, his proudest possession is his Combat Infantryman’s Badge. Me, I am just one more veteran of the U.S. Air Force. I am a former Fire Protection Specialist who served Uncle Sam Airlines in the Republic of Vietnam, and returned to civilian life with a good set of job skills and an abiding love for the fire service.

I am truly inspired by his example, by his willingness to challenge the assumptions that have guided the military for decades. His dedicated example gives a sense of urgency to my mission within the fire service. Hackworth spoke lovingly of the fine young people who serve within the US Military. However, he spoke of his dissatisfaction with the career-oriented, "ticket puncher" officers who consider the life of their careers more important than the lives of their people.

He spoke of how so many officers in the Army suffered from the same problem. When they reached the rank of Major, they suddenly became blinded by the glitter of the General’s stars that were shinning in their mind’s eye. He spoke of the people who were leaving the military in droves, because they could no longer work with people who were more concerned with their own hides than the safety and welfare of their people.

I think that I can say, with a high degree of certainty, that this is a continuing problem within the fire service. I see this type of problem in an increasing number of cases. Fire Chiefs can be found praying at the altar of politics, afraid to speak lest they lose the only things they love in life: their badge of gold and their take home pay.

I have seen people turn on their friends just to advance their careers. This is truly a sad sight indeed. But they are typical of an emerging segment of the fire service who live by the motto, "… what’s in it for me?"

Many chiefs of all ranks have held me in contempt, because of the manner in which I highlight the feet of clay that many self-appointed idols possess. To those who take offense, I say, "…hmm, I must have hit just a little too close to home." To those Chief’s who read my words and say, "… thank goodness, I’m glad that I am not like that," I say, "… thank you and spread your good works to the next three generations."

This is an aspect of my mission in life. It is my intention to keep plugging away at correcting those things that make life tough for the troops in the trenches. You know them. They are the people who are fighting and dying to keep the rest of society safe from itself and the ravages of nature. I think that this is a noble undertaking. However, there is a downside to this aspect of my life.

There are days when I start to think, am I losing my mind? Am I wasting my time writing and lobbying through the media for the fire service? How can so many people be telling me I am right, and so many more be yelling at me to stay the heck out of their business? I always suspected that the America Fire Service was a diverse lot. But I always thought that we had the best interests of our own people as the core of our every value. Now I don’t know. I guess that I may be suffering from some sort of general spiritual malaise. I keep pitching, but the number of strikes seems a bit hit or miss.

But there is a strong plus side to all of this. Just when I start to feel that my battle is being fought for naught, an e-mail will come dancing across my screen from one of you fine folks out there. You will take the time to share a thought or offer a word of encouragement. And that thought or word will buoy my spirits for yet another week.

Just the other day I received a message that literally made my month. Bob Sanborn from Bowling Green, Kentucky offered me the following thought, "Ya Hoo! The military has retired Col. David Hackworth...now the fire service has Harry Carter. I love truth tellers…if you are irksome to the self serving you're on the right track." I do not believe that Mr. Sanborn was aware of my high regard for Colonel Hackworth. But Bob, I am here to tell you that you made me a very happy man.

Let me close with a warning that I have used many times during the past 24 years of researching and writing for the fire service. The words of George Santayana, written in 1905 are still quite true, yet so often scorned. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Ask yourself why you joined the fire service. If you are still in the business of helping people in their time of need, and serving the people who work for you, OK. If not, it’s time to hang up your helmet and open a delicatessen.

The commentary in this column does not necessarily reflect those of Firehouse.Com, Firehouse Magazine, their employees or parent company Cygnus Business Media. Harry R. Carter, Ph.D., MIFireE, is an internationally known municipal fire protection consultant and contributing editor to Firehouse Magazine. He recently retired as a Battalion Commander with the Newark, New Jersey Fire Department. His commentary appears regularly on Firehouse.Com. For more commentary and information, visit Carter's web site at www.harrycarter.com Harry has published several books available for online ordering, including Firefighting Strategy and Tactics and Management in the Fire Service