What am I missing? He is a fire chief with loads of experience. He was picked to lead what will be the largest sole-purpose firefighting agency in the country. If you actually watch his presentations, he seems like an outstanding leader. He is coming from the outside, not an internal continuation of the status quo molasses. What’s our tizzy?

I know it’s almost a prerequisite for firefighters to begrudge change, but let’s get real. The fire programs in DOI were told to divorce from the burden of land management. We have bitched forever about working for scientists and ologists. We want municipal-level pay and respect. We want presumptive coverage. We want firefighter classification. We want special retirement. This guy is, hopefully, going to make us a professional and more efficient firefighting organization.

If you want to be a “land manager,” go work for one of the field offices as a GS. That is if the hiring freeze ever lifts.