Throughout my 25+ years across the spectrum of departments - busy/urban to rural/semi-rural - and working in all positions, volunteer to Chief, I've come to realize that training drives the culture of a department. I believe that a department's operational abilities, community service standards, and leadership tone all come from the caliber of the training program. I've also come to see that in departments with a training-first culture, the Training Officer is a critical forward-facing position in the fire department and as such needs to take the position very seriously, which is why I'm here engaging with the ISFSI, a truly great organization.
As part of my ISFSI committee work and advocacy, I forward the idea that departments with serious training cultures equates to training that is challenging, stretches the abilities of the crew, and is robust and frequent. Or, more simply, the training is hard, as it should be, considering what we've sworn to do: protect our fellow citizens. Can't train hard enough for that.
Finally, I see that the longer I do this job, the less I know, and so I try to stay both humble and teachable, learning from all of you, and especially from my cohorts here in the ISFSI.