Photo By Chief Petty Officer Brian Morales | 201109-N-YB753-0014 WASHINGTON (Nov. 9, 2020) Commander of Navy Installations Command...... read more read more
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Retirement for a West Bend, Wisconsin native leaves one last matter for him to address; who will put out all the fires?
Commander, Navy Installations Command bids fair winds and following seas to Navy Fire & Emergency Services Deputy Director Ricky Brockman upon his retirement Dec. 5.
“My service to the Navy entails making sure the men and women of Navy F&ES are capable of helping our Sailors and their families survive the worst moments of their life while keeping themselves safe to return to their own family after every shift,” said Brockman. “Bad things happen regardless of budgets and it is incumbent on us HQ folks to give the deckplate the tools and training to mitigate bad things without making them worse. To quote the late Phoenix Fire Chief Alan Brunacini, ‘Do no harm, survive, be nice.’ A good mantra for everyone in the chain of command, top to bottom.”
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Brockman’s official retirement ceremony took place at the CNIC headquarters onboard the Washington Navy Yard, Nov. 9 with special precautions to include physical distancing between participants and audience members, as well as wearing a facial mask covering the nose and mouth. Additionally, many family and friends tuned in on Facebook Live, reducing event attendance to keep within health guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
During the retirement ceremony, CNIC Operations Director Mark Sinder presented Brockman with the Department of the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award. While serving as the deputy director for Navy F&ES, Brockman implemented the U.S. Navy Firefighter Fitness and Wellness Program, minimized risk while increasing the safety of 53,000 service members as a member of the Department of Defense F&ES working group, facilitated the revision of two DOD Fire & Emergency Services instructions, and managed DOD fire credential program.
“One of his greatest attributes is he always kept the deckplate firefighters in focus,” said CNIC F&ES Director Carl B. Glover, Jr. “Never forget everything we do at HQ is to support the installation firefighters; make their jobs easier and safer.”
“I don't look at it as serving my command,” said Brockman. “I am serving the men and women of Navy Fire and Emergency Services, the ones putting on PPE and riding fire trucks and ambulances every day. I relish the opportunity to make their jobs easier or safer or both. Whether issuing wellness and fitness instructions, procuring new equipment, training devices and vehicles or answering provocative questions, it warms my soul to hear the folks on the deckplate tell us they appreciate our efforts, that we made a positive difference in their lives.”
Brockman’s 50 years of service began with an active duty enlistment to the U.S. Air Force in November 1971.
“I stood in formation with about 20 or 30 others while a career advisor walked down each squad pointing to each individual Airman saying, ‘airframe repair, security police and fireman’ to every other guy, and that’s how I came to firefighting; pure chance,” Brockman recalled in his last editorial of the Navy Fire & Emergency Services newsletter.
After 20 years of service, Brockman retired from the Air Force, achieving the rank of senior master sergeant.
According to Brockman, his firefighting knowledge and skills learned from his Air Force career did not meet the criteria of several municipal fire departments at which he had applied for work. This led to Brockman embracing a new mantra; “you don’t know squat” and returning to school.
Nearly accepting a job offer as a contract assistant fire chief in Turkey, Brockman received another offer for a fire inspector position at Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, Crete, beginning his civil service career in March 1993.
Being stationed away from his family, Brockman moved to Southern California in Ventura County where one morning he was selected as the fire chief for Naval Base Ventura County.
“The pain we suffered in the late 90’s and early 2000’s was necessary to institutionalize the remarkable department NBVC has today, and I could not be more proud of the team out there,” Brock stated in his editorial.
Years later, then- Naval Facilities Engineering Command Navy Fire Protection Division Director Bill Killen recruited Brockman to serve as the assistant program director.
“I met Ricky at a Navy Fire Officer’s training conference and recruited him to work with me in Washington, D.C.,” said Killen, former CEO of National Fire Heritage Center and emeritus director of Navy F&ES. “Rick was a dependable and self-motivated member of the Navy Fire & Emergency Services team, who continuously strived towards making the organization succeed in supporting the fire personnel in the field.”
In October 2004, NAVFAC Fire Protection Division staff transitioned into CNIC F&ES.
Working along former and current N&ES directors Killen and Glover, respectively, Brockman continued improving the firefighting capabilities and support for the shore enterprise’s installations around the world to provide emergency medical services response, fire protection and hazardous material, fire prevention, and aircraft crash and rescue.
“Ricky is a mentor and friend .... he enjoyed offering advice and guidance to our staff,” Glover said. “We wish him well as he starts a new chapter of retirement.”
Brockman’s distinctive service led to his selection for the DOD Fire and Heritage Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and inductions into DOD Emergency Services Hall of Fame and the National Fire Heritage Center Hall of Legends: Legacy of Leaders.
“I feel proudest of all the people who learned from me and payed it forward instilling the same work ethic and attention to detail that I advocated my entire career,” said Brockman. “There are dozens of chief fire officers, fire chiefs, and senior managers who I had the pleasure to teach and watch grow into exceptional leaders in their own right. Now they are teaching a new group, and I feel part of that process as well. Very satisfying.”
With more than 53,000 military and civilian personnel worldwide across 10 regions, 70 installations, CNIC is responsible for the operations, maintenance and quality of life programs to support the Navy's Fleet, Fighter and Family.
| Date Taken: | 12.03.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 12.03.2020 11:29 |
| Story ID: | 384157 |
| Location: | WASHINGTON NAVY YARD, DC, US |
| Web Views: | 192 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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