Veterans part of N. Mexico crew fighting fires

"Face Cut, falling, clear," hollers M.J. Townsend as he cuts a burned snag at the Gorge Creek Trailhead on the Bear Creek Fire.

Townsend and 16 other firefighters are part of the Returning Heroes Fire Crew from New Mexico working on the Bear Creek Fire on the Spotted Bear Ranger District. The Returning Heroes crew is part of an on-going New Mexico state program to provide veterans with new job skills and meaningful work.

"It's a great program to give veterans a chance to learn new skills" said crew boss David Sanchez.

The Returning Heroes program began in 2013 as a pilot program to give returning veterans opportunities for job training and new skills. The program became so successful that New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez garnered funding to expand the program and make it a full-time program.

"Our Governor has been very helpful with funding and getting us some nice equipment," Sanchez said. The program trains and certifies veterans to work on forestry thinning projects, prescribed fires and wildfires. The veterans learn to use chainsaws, fell trees safely, and how to work within the crew environment of the incident command system that U.S. fire management and disaster agencies utilize.

The crew is comprised of veterans from all branches of the military. The first year 72 veterans applied and 63 were trained and put to work. Many of the crew members have returned to the program for the past three years. The state has enough veterans to support three crews. Two crews are currently out on fires and one is back in New Mexico working on local project work. The program helps returning veterans transition to civilian life from their military service.

"They enjoy the closeness and supportive nature of the crew and the chain of command the crew situation provides," Sanchez said.

Working as a crew seems to come easy for most of the veterans, coming from the regiment of military life.

"One thing that attracted me to the crew was the comradery of the all the crew members. It's a good group," said Tess Filip.

Filip, the lone female member of the crew and an army veteran said that learning new skills and seeing and traveling to new places is what drew her to the crew. Starting with the crew in April, she's now a full-time employee for the crew as an operational forester who is also one of the crew's sawyers, lugging a chainsaw and other gear with her through the forest.

The crews started this season with thinning projects in New Mexico state parks near Santa Fe and their first fire assignment was over the Fourth of July weekend near Albuquerque. From there they were assigned to a fire in Arizona. As the northwest heated up and fire activity increased, they were sent to Washington where they helped initial attack 11 fires in 14 days. Their next assignment was here in Montana where they worked on the Squeezer Creek Fire near Condon. After being requested to extend their time in Montana, they were reassigned to the Bear Creek Fire at Spotted Bear. Here, they have been using their tree felling skills assisting in removing hazard trees along the Meadow Creek Road and at the Gorge Creek Trailhead.

Ramon Van Winkle, a soft spoken second season crew member and a Marine veteran, said his experience with the crew has allowed him to gain knowledge of firefighting and to be with other vets. Pablo Lujan, a Navy veteran, says he enjoys being outdoors and the beautiful scenery he's been able to see while working on fires in the northwest.

"This experience gives them a sense of belonging, it's a great community to belong to, they're glad to be here," said Michael Gonzales, program coordinator.