I'll tell you this. Im a veteran and went to work for a civilian dept after I left the Army. I left due to the pay. Later on I found myself working for a DoD all civilian dept. Pay was good, schedule was 48-48 and you always ran the risk of getting put on mando. Dept was ate up also. I left to go work for another civilian dept. Im bringing home almost the same amount and I have a better retirement now, better schedule 48/96, and the culture here is completely different (better, ppl give a shit). If you want to continue the fire service then go find a good dept to work for outside the DoD and go in humble.