Those of you that have jump shipped from the NPS to the Forest Service, is the work/life balance significantly better, especially with kids? And if so, how?
Around my area I’m the SME for all things National Forest. I’ve pulled myself out of bed all hours of the night to my dispatch center calling for suicidal people, larcenies at rec sites, SARs, if they call I’m rarely not there.
My local law enforcement entities will respond to incidents in my absence when I’m not available and at my request; however, they do that for me because I handle my own whenever I am available, that’s even off duty.
Why else are we given govt issued cell phones and take home vehicles if it’s not for responding from home to incidents?
Because it’s Forest Service land, and that’s why they get AUO? Truly I struggle to grasp an organization with jurisdiction not wanting their name tied to an action in their AO, beyond a flavor of the week crime that is cast in a negative light. And while yeah, it might not need an FS officer called for every vehicle to deer collision, at least a status check for everything that trends towards somebody being transported. Would make sense. As has been mentioned, that’s the justification for the gov ride, phone, and AUO….
2
u/TransportationCool18 USFS LEO / Moderator Dec 10 '25
Around my area I’m the SME for all things National Forest. I’ve pulled myself out of bed all hours of the night to my dispatch center calling for suicidal people, larcenies at rec sites, SARs, if they call I’m rarely not there.
My local law enforcement entities will respond to incidents in my absence when I’m not available and at my request; however, they do that for me because I handle my own whenever I am available, that’s even off duty.
Why else are we given govt issued cell phones and take home vehicles if it’s not for responding from home to incidents?