Expeditionary Firefighting and Rescue (EFR) Specialist

You are the boots-on-ground firefighter learning ARFF from the ground up. Every shift is a live classroom — hose lays, agent checks, vehicle walk-arounds, and standing by on the flight line hoping today stays quiet.

Perform daily operator-level maintenance on P-19/P-23 ARFF vehicles — fluid levels, turret function, pump checks, AFFF concentration verification. Stand flight-line standby during aircraft operations, suited up and staged in accordance with NFPA 403 response time requirements. Respond to crash-fire-rescue calls under direct supervision, executing hose pulls, turret operation, and basic victim extrication support. Maintain assigned PPE, SCBA, and rescue tool serviceability. Drill on aircraft-specific firefighting tactics for the airframes assigned to your installation — Hornets, Ospreys, Harriers, whatever's flying. Stand structure fire watch on-base as assigned.

• 01P-19/P-23 operator maintenance, AFFF concentration testing, SCBA donning and function checks, hose deployment, turret operation, hot brakes response procedures, aircraft-specific egress familiarization

• —NAVAIR 00-80R-14 (Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting); NFPA 403 (Standard for Aircraft Rescue and Fire-Fighting Services at Airports); applicable aircraft NATOPS egress/firefighting annexes; unit SOPs for flight operations standby

• —Response time compliance per NFPA 403; AFFF system concentration within specification; SCBA fit-check and buddy-check before every standby; daily vehicle inspection documented and discrepancies reported same shift

• —Skipping AFFF concentrate level checks and discovering the tank is low during an actual mishap. Not reading the airframe-specific cards before standing by for an unfamiliar aircraft. Forgetting to verify turret travel range after maintenance — discovering it binds under heat during a live fire.

The E3 who's read every aircraft-specific firefighting card on the board, knows the egress sequence for every airframe on the line, and runs a vehicle walk-around so methodically that supervisors stop double-checking behind them. They ask questions during drills, not during mishaps. Their SCBA is always staged, checked, and ready without being told.

You are a qualified crash/fire/rescue specialist who can work a scene without hand-holding. You are transitioning from learning the job to owning specific pieces of it — vehicle crew leader, primary SCBA entry team member, training assistant.

Serve as crew member or assistant crew leader on ARFF vehicle response. Operate rescue tools including hydraulic spreader/cutter during aircraft mishap extrication under crash crew leadership. Conduct and document AFFF system foam concentrate tests and certify results. Assist in training junior Marines on vehicle operation, drill evolutions, and agent application techniques. Maintain currency on assigned airframes — new aircraft arrive and you're expected to know the egress before the first flight. Participate in joint-agency exercises with installation ATC and naval air operations center. Execute structural and aircraft fire attack with increasing independence.

• 01Hydraulic rescue tool operation, aircraft egress assistance techniques, AFFF foam system testing and documentation, drill facilitation for junior Marines, hot brakes and wheel well fire response, multi-agency coordination basics

• —NAVAIR 00-80R-14; NFPA 403; aircraft NATOPS firefighting/egress sections for assigned airframes; unit training SOPs; DoD Instruction 6055.06 (DoD Fire and Emergency Services Program)

• —Rescue tool proficiency demonstrable without supervision; AFFF concentrate test results documented accurately and within tolerance; no training event conducted without a safety brief; all assigned airframe cards reviewed within 30 days of new aircraft arrival

• —Over-applying AFFF foam inside a cockpit during rescue, turning extrication into a slipping hazard for the crew. Not knowing the difference between an F/A-18 and an MV-22 egress sequence when both are on the line the same day. Hydraulic tool hose connection reversed under stress because you only drilled it slow.

The Corporal who briefs the response plan before every flight-ops period without being asked, has the rescue tool staged and function-checked before standby, and can walk a Pvt through an AFFF system test while simultaneously managing their own vehicle check. When a hot brakes call comes in, they're staged at the correct approach angle before the flight line coordinator finishes the radio call.

You are a crash/fire/rescue team leader. Mishap response now runs through you — you are the person who makes the first call on scene, controls approach, assigns roles, and keeps people alive in the first sixty seconds of a crash.

Lead ARFF response as incident commander for initial aircraft mishap response until relieved by senior authority. Assign crew positions and responsibilities during standby and response. Conduct pre-operations briefings for flight operations periods — airframe types flying, known hazards, weather impacts on agent performance, egress considerations. Manage AFFF system maintenance, agent inventory, and foam concentrate replenishment. Prepare and review training records, drill schedules, and equipment inspection reports. Coordinate with air operations, ATC, and the airfield officer on duty for mishap planning. Mentor Corporals and junior Marines in technical proficiency. Identify training deficiencies and route them up before they become mishap factors.

• 01Initial incident command, ARFF crew coordination and tasking, pre-ops flight line briefing, AFFF inventory and resupply management, training record maintenance, multi-agency coordination during exercises, risk assessment for non-standard airfield operations

• —NAVAIR 00-80R-14; NFPA 403; DoDI 6055.06; MCWP 3-21.2 (MAGTF Aviation); applicable MWSS organizational publications; unit TTP documents for expeditionary airfield operations

• —Pre-ops brief conducted before every flight operations period, no exceptions; incident command assumed within 60 seconds of scene arrival; crew assignments communicated before vehicle rolls; AFFF inventory reconciled weekly; all training deficiencies documented and routed to GySgt within 24 hours of identification

• —Not adjusting agent application technique for crosswind conditions — AFFF downwind drift during a cockpit fire can mean the foam never hits the fuselage where the pilot is sitting. Skipping the pre-ops brief when it is a routine flight day and then having a non-standard aircraft show up unannounced. Letting crew position assignments be informal and watching two Marines reach for the same tool at the same time on a real call.

The Sergeant who runs the pre-ops brief like a mini-crew briefing — reads the weather, names the aircraft, calls the egress considerations for each type, assigns standby positions, and closes with the question "what did I miss?" They are on the radio with ATC before the flight period opens and they know the names of every pilot scheduled to fly. When a mishap call drops, their crew is moving before the vehicle stops.

You are the technical backbone of the crash/fire/rescue section. You own vehicle readiness, training program execution, and the institutional knowledge that keeps a flight line safe through personnel turnover.

Oversee the full ARFF vehicle fleet — maintenance schedules, discrepancy tracking, deadline reporting, and coordination with motor transport and contractors for repairs beyond crew-level. Manage the section training program: build the quarterly schedule, assign instructors, track individual qualifications, and ensure all Marines maintain currency on airframes, agents, and rescue tools. Review and update unit SOPs when NAVAIR publications or NFPA standards change. Serve as incident commander for complex or multi-vehicle responses. Coordinate with MWSS and wing-level aviation safety on near-miss reports and mishap trends. Advise the GySgt on personnel issues, training shortfalls, and equipment deficiencies. Engage with expeditionary airfield operations planning — ARFF capability at expeditionary airstrips requires specific TTPs distinct from fixed installations.

• 01ARFF fleet maintenance management, quarterly training program development, individual qualification tracking, NAVAIR/NFPA publication integration, expeditionary airfield ARFF planning, mishap trend analysis, contractor coordination for vehicle maintenance

• —NAVAIR 00-80R-14; NFPA 403; DoDI 6055.06; MCWP 3-21.2; MWSS organizational manuals; applicable wing SOP/instruction library

• —Zero overdue vehicle PMs with documentation current; all Marines current on airframe cards and rescue tool qualifications; SOP reviewed and updated within 90 days of any applicable publication change; expeditionary airfield TTPs reviewed before any deployed exercise

• —Letting vehicle deadlines stack up during a deployment work-up and then arriving in theater with degraded ARFF capability and no time to fix it. Treating the training schedule as a paperwork exercise instead of a readiness tool — checking boxes without verifying that Marines can actually perform the task under stress.

The SSgt who has a living record of every vehicle's maintenance status and every Marine's qualification currency, updates it weekly, and briefs discrepancies to the GySgt before they become surprises. When the unit deploys to an expeditionary strip, the ARFF TTP adjustment brief is already written.

You are the section chief. The ARFF section's readiness, personnel, and integration into MWSS aviation support operations runs through you. You are the person who gets called when the ARFF capability question comes up at the operations planning table.

Command the crash/fire/rescue section as NCOIC. Own all aspects of section readiness — personnel assignments, qualification status, vehicle fleet, agent supply, and training program. Represent the ARFF section at MWSS operations and logistics coordination meetings. Advise the Operations Officer and XO on flight-line safety, mishap response capability, and any shortfalls that affect the airfield's ability to execute flight operations. Manage section budget inputs for vehicle parts, agent resupply, and PPE replacement. Coordinate with installation fire department and tenant commands on joint-agency response plans. Evaluate expeditionary capability and identify gaps early. Develop junior NCOs into the next generation of section leaders. Manage mishap documentation and interface with aviation safety on formal investigations.

• 01Section NCOIC responsibilities, budget input and resource advocacy, joint-agency planning with installation fire departments, aviation safety mishap investigation interface, expeditionary capability assessment, personnel management and NCO development, operations integration briefing

• —NAVAIR 00-80R-14; NFPA 403; DoDI 6055.06; MCO P3500.19 (USMC Aviation Training and Readiness); MWSS organizational regulations; T/E documents for ARFF vehicle fleet

• —Section readiness status briefed to Operations Officer monthly, no surprises; all vehicle and personnel readiness discrepancies escalated with a recommended COA; joint-agency coordination meeting attended at least quarterly; no qualification gap for more than 30 days without a mitigation plan

• —Walking into a deployment with a T/E shortfall on AFFF concentrate because nobody tracked consumption rate during exercises. Allowing the section to become insular — ARFF that doesn't coordinate with the installation fire department before a real mishap will have a coordination failure during one.

The GySgt who has already war-gamed the three most likely mishap scenarios for every airframe on the squadron's flight schedule and briefed the response plan to the section before flight operations begin. They are known by first name to the installation fire chief. When the Operations Officer asks "are we ARFF-ready?", the answer is a briefing, not a guess.

You are operating at wing or MWSS senior leadership level, shaping ARFF policy, capability standards, and the professional development of the entire MOS across the Marine Corps aviation enterprise.

Serve as the senior enlisted advisor for ARFF capability across an MWSS, Marine Aircraft Wing, or at the MOS-functional level. Review and provide input to NAVAIR publication revisions, NFPA 403 implementation guidance, and DoD fire and emergency services policy. Advise commanding officers on ARFF capability sufficiency for proposed operations, exercises, and deployments. Identify systemic training, equipment, or manning shortfalls across the MOS and develop solutions. Mentor GySgts and senior SSgts. Represent ARFF interests in cross-functional aviation safety boards. Engage with program managers on vehicle lifecycle and next-generation ARFF capability. As 1stSgt or SgtMaj, advise the CO on all matters of discipline, welfare, morale, and unit readiness for the full Marine formation.

• 01Wing/MWSS-level ARFF readiness oversight, publication revision input, DoD fire services policy engagement, program management interface for vehicle fleet modernization, systemic gap identification and resolution, senior enlisted advisory functions, cross-functional aviation safety board participation

• —NAVAIR 00-80R-14; NFPA 403; DoDI 6055.06; DoD 6055.06-M (DoD Fire and Emergency Services Certification Program); MCO P3500.19; HQMC Aviation ARFF functional area policy

• —ARFF capability shortfalls elevated with recommended solution and timeline; publication input submitted within comment periods; no deployed unit goes with a known ARFF capability gap that was not documented and escalated; MOS professional development pathway communicated to all GySgts

• —Accepting the P-19 fleet age as a fact of life instead of building the POM argument for recapitalization with maintenance-cost data. Letting the ARFF section become invisible at the wing level — if senior leadership doesn't think about ARFF until there's a mishap, something failed upstream.

The MGySgt who has read every change notice to NAVAIR 00-80R-14 in the last decade, knows exactly when the P-23 fleet will hit end-of-service-life, and has already written the talking points for the next program review. When a catastrophic mishap happens at any Marine Corps installation, their phone rings first — and they know exactly what questions to ask.