Fire Critic An Unadulterated View of the Fire Service
I hate when promotion time rolls around. It is like working around a bunch of zombies. Promotions in my department suck already, there is no sense in selling yourself out and becoming a No. 1 bootlicker. I pity those guys.
Promotions where I work happen this way….
- Announcement of testing
- Sign up for testing
- Written test…the same thing for like 5 years. Most guys have most of the answers
- Practical testing…incident command, problem employee, in-out basket
- The create a cut off score from the tally of everyone’s 4 events above
- Those above the line are on the list
Then they promote whoever the hell they want. It is hilarious. It used to bother me, it doesn’t anymore. I don’t have any expectations. I enjoy my job. I will not shoulder the burden of selling out and kissing ass. Too many guys do it and don’t even realize it.
What good is it anyways. Once they get promoted everyone remembers. I have seen all kinds of ass kissing too. Some normal and some way over the top.
Don’t get me wrong, many of our Officers deserve their promotion and did it the right way. It just seem each year that the bar raises on how to suck ass the best.
I often wonder if they can sleep at night.
I know I can and I am good with that.
I am going through the process. It is probably a waste. I am one of those guys who likes to question Administration. Yes indeed. I don’t mind asking why we did this or how we are going to fix that. I do it tactfully. Hell, someone has to do it. I try not to complain, more so be productive and offer solutions.
I am not the only one wondering why things are done certain ways. I am just one of the few who has the gumption to ask questions. I have seen some progress.
What those other guys don’t realize is that if they sit back and don’t raise an eyebrow…things won’t change. If the driver is asleep at the wheel you know what happens next.
In the coming months, I will give you an update on how I ended up in the promotional process.
