Photo By Sgt. Anshu Pandeya | Staff Sgt. Justin Wright, a Chico, California infantryman, pins down Staff Sgt. Steven...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE McGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J.—Adrenaline junkie may be a good word to describe Staff Sgt. Justin A. Wright. He's gone from firefights in Iraq and Afghanistan to fighting fires in California.
Wright is an infantryman with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade, 100th Division (Institutional Training), 80th Training Command (The Army School System) and is competing in the 2014 U.S. Army Reserve Best Warrior Competition. He has served for 10 years, more than four of them on active duty with the 82nd Airborne Division.
He admits there are some differences serving as an infantryman on active duty versus reserve.
“There's a little bit of an adjustment period, but it's still the Army, so Soldiering is still the same.”
As a civilian, Wright is a wildland firefighter and member of the Mendocino Hotshots, a hand crew in northern California. The Augusta, Maine native moved to Chico, California because he thought it would be a good place to be a wildland firefighter.
Hotshots are members of an elite group of wildland firefighters. They fight fires in some of the most remote and inaccessible locations.
“It just looked fun,” he explained. “It's probably the closest thing to being an infantryman in the civilian world. You still eat MREs (Meals, Ready-to-Eat), sleep in the dirt, get dirty and work hard.
Wright decided to leave active duty so he could be a member of the hotshot crew.
“Every person is very important. Everyone has their role. There are two captains, two squaddies, then there are lead firefighters, and a superintendent. Each are broken into two different modules,” he said. “We use tools, hand tools that we make, and chainsaws to cut firebreaks. To stop the fire, we don't use water. We work with helicopters.”
Some of the skills Wright picked up as an infantryman transfer to his job as a wildland firefighter and vice versa.
“What I've brought from the Army, and I think [the firefighters] would agree with me, is leadership,” he said. “Discipline is a big thing especially in a job that is dangerous. We're not always in danger, but it is a dangerous job. There is inherent risk there, so being disciplined really helps. And I learned that directly from the Army.”
Physical fitness and teamwork are also crucial elements required of the job.
“When I first became a firefighter, I wasn't in a lead position, so I came from being a sergeant in the Army, team leader, squad leader, and then I was low man on the totem pole again. Definitely being in the Army helped me to transition into that and get back up to a leadership position,” he said.
As if being a hotshot wasn't thrilling enough, Wright wants to be a smokejumper.
“You still fight fires with hand tools and chainsaws, but you don't have to hike to get to the fire most of the time,” he said. “You parachute in. Next year, providing I stay healthy and barring any injuries or anything, that's what I'm going to try do next year.”
In the meantime, he and 41 other Army Reserve Soldiers competed against each other in various challenges throughout the week in the USARC BWC to test their physical, mental, and tactical abilities. The winners will have the opportunity to represent the Army Reserve at the Department of the Army Best Warrior Competition.
Because some of the skills transfer between his military and civilian occupations, Wright is also able to take things he learns at BWC.
“Land navigation is a good thing. We're always out in the forest for my civilian job,” he said. “When I'm at work, I'm usually teaching guys about maps, compasses, lats and longs, and GPSs and stuff like that. I bring back anything I've learned out here.
He uses his military skills to help his fellow firefighters and he uses his civilian skills to help his fellow Soldiers. Wright helps other Soldiers at BWC, and, in turn, they help him.
“You always learn new stuff. It doesn't matter who it is from. One of the specialists out here the other day corrected my handgrip on the M9. That doesn't transfer to my civilian job but it certainly made me shoot better,” he said.
Whether he gets a rush or not, Wright has enjoyed his time at BWC.
“I'm happy to be here,” he said. “Staff Sgt. [Robert] Jones is here. He was in my company. We've served together in Afghanistan, and I haven't seen him in like six years. He's here competing so I thought that was pretty cool. I'm honored to be here.”
| Date Taken: | 06.25.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 06.27.2014 01:38 |
| Story ID: | 134612 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NJ, US |
| Hometown: | AUGUSTA, ME, US |
| Hometown: | CHICO, CA, US |
| Hometown: | ROSCOE, IL, US |
| Web Views: | 507 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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