SOUTH DAKOTA—In a world where social distancing is becoming the norm and the notion of going it alone has become standard, two Job Corps Centers joined together to form one camp crew and remind us how important teamwork is.

On March 26, 2022, students and staff from two Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers, Boxelder Job Corps in Nemo, South Dakota, and Pine Ridge Job Corps in Chadron, Nebraska, came together at a South Dakota airport.

Their mission? To fly to California to support the Southern California Incident Cache in its preparation for the 2022 wildland fire season. Their task? To help clean, organize and inventory firefighting supplies in preparation for the 2022 fire season.

The students worked 10 to 12-hour days in up to 100 degree temperatures, seven days a week, to accomplish their 14-day assignment. The students received an hourly wage, and each earned 175 Public Lands Corps hours for their effort.

The students were assigned multiple tasks. Students who were forklift certified had the opportunity to drive the cache forklifts to transport supplies. Some were taught how to vinyl weld the water holding tanks with a heat gun. Others tested, cleaned and repackaged equipment. Students were also responsible for power washing and patching tents and cots.

“This camp crew played an important part in our mission,” said Joseph Brugger, the cache manager.

This was an excellent example of a real-life learning experience for the students, who realized the importance of working together as a team. They listened to one another to learn how to perform various tasks. Their differences in personalities were quickly resolved. 

Boxelder Job Corps student Maurice Mfumbe said, “I learned to respect the person in charge.” All Boxelder students agreed that they wanted to work hard for Boxelder and take pride in their accomplishments.

When speaking about their experience, the Boxelder camp crew referred to the Pine Ridge camp crew as “their brothers.” The students added that they were very grateful for the opportunity.

Tacy Bressler, counselor/staff member representing Boxelder Job Corps stated, “The students were challenged and rose to the occasion. Students who were timid at the beginning were leaders by the end.”

The centers’ undertaking was extremely successful. The staff from the cache were so impressed that they wanted to extend the students’ work assignment. At the end of their mission, the students and staff received Forest Service challenge coins.

Boxelder and Pine Ridge are off to an impressive start to what is surely to be a very busy fire season.

Boxelder Civilian Conservation Center has the capacity to serve 124 students. Pine Ridge Civilian Conservation Center has the capacity to serve 171 students. The centers support the Job Corps program’s mission to teach eligible young people the skills they need to become employable and independent and place them in meaningful jobs or further education. The Job Corps Wildland Fire Program is managed under a partnership between Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management and Job Corps. Students who participate are trained as wildland firefighters and in other support functions, such as working as fire camp crews and dispatching, at all 24 Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers.