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Gym, cleaning, laundry and brotherhood: life inside the firehouse

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. David Salanitri
  • Air Forces Centeral Combat Correspondent
QALAT, Afghanistan --  Firefighters are a unique breed. They defy human instinct by risking their lives running towards danger.

Firefighters from U.S. Air Forces Central's A7 Civil Engineering quick strike team recently set up shop at forward operating base Apache in Qalat, Afghanistan.

Members from the QST, who are from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., are here to provide crash, fire and rescue support to aircraft landing, as well as provide firefighting support to FOB Apache, and neighbor, FOB Davis.

While the job that these men do is vital to the mission, it's hard not to notice their distinct personalities.

A new acronym can be added to the never ending list of military jargon. Gym, cleaning, laundry and brotherhood (GCLB).

From first impressions, it isn't very hard to guess what their profession is. They reinforce the textbook picture of a firefighter.

Gym. Throughout the day, the "firedogs" can be found at one of three places: the firehouse, the dining facility or the gym. They are every inch of the term gym warrior. Walk inside their shop and no less than five tubs of protein powder will be seen. On the front table is a collection of shakes.

Only hours after the team landed at Apache, they've already made themselves at home.

Cleaning. These men are always cleaning. If all of them weren't built like the juggernaut or Hollywood movie star, Matthew McConaughey, some may call them cleaning maids or janitors. By the evening, their firehouse/living quarters hybrid is already among the cleanest on base. Floors are swept, walls are clean and everything is organized.

Before arriving at Apache, the men knew that certain daily items weren't going to be accessible due to their remote location, so they stocked up on the essentials.

Laundry. "I love clean laundry, and I know I'm not the only one here," said Staff Sgt. Eric Kauntz, a native of Dickens, Texas. "We have enough laundry detergent to last the rest of the deployment. Laundry detergent is my bargaining chip here."

The word "coworker" doesn't do justice to the bond these men have.

Brotherhood. Hang out with them for just minutes and it's obvious that they are more than coworkers.

"At home station, we eat together, work together, and are around each other day and night," said Staff Sgt. Aaron Scofield, a native of Harlan, Iowa. "Our lives are in each other's hand. How many people can say that about the person they work with?"

When some people deploy, they get teamed up with strangers. That's not the case for these men.

"Even though half of our team is from another base, we still have a leg up on other folks who deploy," said Tech. Sgt. Gabriel Johnson, deputy fire chief and native of Prince George County, Va. "When other units go to combat skills training, they have to learn what everyone's barriers are and things like that. With us, we're already used to sleeping in the same room, cracking jokes on each other and everything in between. We don't need to deploy to know everything about each other, we already do."