COLUMBUS, Ohio — Summer heat, lightning and wind can be the enemy when it comes to protecting forest land during fire season. Ohio Army National Guard 1st Lt. Nick Mossbarger knows firsthand how devastating wildfires can be, as he spent nearly three weeks this summer patrolling national forests.
As part of his civilian job as a recreation technician in the Marietta unit of the Wayne National Forest, located in southeast Ohio, Mossbarger was sent West to assist crews fighting wildfires in South Dakota, Colorado and Wyoming. He helped to patrol more than a million acres in the Black Hills National Forest and Medicine Bow National Forest.
"While on the Medicine Bow, my crew and I were dispatched to a fire located near Laramie Peak. We spent five days there controlling the fire and cutting down over 100 hazard trees to free up a main route," Mossbarger said.
He worked with multiple agencies and volunteer firefighters during the 17-day deployment.
Mossbarger has been a member of the Ohio National Guard since 2007 and is an engineer officer with the 216th Engineer Battalion based in Cincinnati. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2014 and recently returned home from a NATO mission in Romania. Quoting the late union leader Walter Reuther, Mossbarger said his philosophy on military service is there’s "no greater calling than to serve your fellow men."
In his civilian career, Mossbarger previously worked for the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee. At the Wayne National Forest, in addition to firefighting, his duties include maintaining recreation sites and trails, patrolling the forest and educating visitors.
"Every morning I wake up eager to go into work and perform my duties," he said of the job. "Seeing people enjoy themselves at recreation events such as trail rides or fishing derbies makes me proud to say that I work for the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) Forest Service. Every day is different. One day I could be out riding the trails on my mountain bike and clearing trees, and the next be sent to fight a fire out west."