Day 366

[sansoofireman]

WTF? How do we stop this?

There are more and more rookies that pass probation and turn into total turds on day 366. They're supposed to be a hardcore rookie to establish good habits and instill our trust in them, not to BS us so on day 366 they go into cruise mode.

There are a lot of stories out there, I'm sure. Let's hear them. It's okay... vent a little. I'm listening...

[Shorttimer]

Set the example everyday. Should a guy at day 366 be working any harder than you? Making your coffee? Bringing in the paper and doing all the housework? Seems simple to me.

[illdaddy]

Should a guy at day 366 be working any harder than you? Making your coffee? Bringing in the paper and doing all the housework? Seems simple to me.

I only got a few years in, but I think that rank and seniority should mean something.

I give up my seat for senior guys on OT or trade, and I always keep a fresh pot brewing. And I am still usually the last one to sit down and eat and the first one up to clean.

Everyone should pay their dues kicking butt as a good rookie. As time goes on and I become more senior, then I expect the newer guys to pick up the smaller details that make station life or the fireground easier on the older more senior firemen.

[Berdoo Beau]

It seems that the youngsters view their new status as "enough on their plate" and that "they have enough to do" without stacking undo chores, unfair work loads and extra mini-drills on top of their already over-burdened probationary year. It seems we "dinosaurs" (to quote a young maverick - notice I spelled it correctly) would rather stick to the "old ways" of hazing the neophytes instead of coming into the light of the new age and embracing the "New School" while casting off the shackles of the "Old School".

Perhaps we should pull up a chair for them to sit and watch TV with us. Maybe we should make THEM a cup of coffee and then hustle out to dump the trash? Been there. Still remember how. Should I get up to turn the lights off and raise the flag? I could, ya know. I've done it before. I do know how to clean the crappers and install fresh rolls of wipes. Done that, too. In fact, I've done everything a new rookie is expected to do (and sometimes still so under certain circumstances) and I did it for my entire probationary year while running 25+ calls a day and attending classes and doing multi-company training and doing the paperwork on inspections and getting re-certified as a paramedic and dealing with hostile Captains and evil Engineers and pissed-off senior Firefighters and taking their crap and cleaning things until my fingers fell off where upon I picked them up, sewed them back on and did it all over again the next shift. That was 26 years ago.

Dear Young Ones - Do your job. Do it well. Do more than is expected of you. Gain the value of a reputation as a worker who "can take it" and it will pay dividends to you as the years inevitably wear on. Take everything thrown at you with a smile. It won't kill you. We won't let it kill you. We will teach you as it has been taught to us. It's called Tradition. It serves a greater purpose than can be explained in this forum. This is the only job in the world that you cannot BS. You either do it or you don't. There is no grey. Learn the lessons. Learn the traditions. Pass them on. There is a right way and a wrong way to pass on traditions. It's my legacy to pass them on the right way. It's my duty to give you the information to make it happen. It's my responsibility to The Old Guard to make you into the best you can be without injuring or killing a brother/sister. If you can't live with that - please find another job somewhere else so that we can close ranks and continue the mission. Yes - it's that simple. Remember - I'm just a dinosaur.

Cheers!
Bill

[trkmant46]

Very Well put!

Now thats how its done...

Thanks for that Bill