Warrior of the Week: Firefighter job a ‘natural progression’ for GFAFB Airman

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Susan L. Davis
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Senior Airman Shane Holland, Grand Forks Air Force Base Fire and Emergency Services fire inspector, is this week's Warrior of the Week.

A Phoenix native, Holland joined the Air Force after coming up empty-handed trying to land a job as a firefighter in his hometown.

"I got my certifications at a fire academy in Phoenix, and applied for about 10 city jobs," Holland explained. "I had one interview for one of those jobs, and it didn't go well. When you apply to join a fire department, it's almost like they're looking for a new 'family member.' They probably looked at me as some 18-year-old kid who had just gotten his certs and had no experience."

He explained that the city was already beginning to cut jobs, and employment opportunities were becoming more scarce.

"From there, I decided to join the Air Force," he said. "I figured I'd go somewhere else, do the job, get some experience and maybe go back."

Holland, who just finished his Community College of the Air Force degree, said that his next step after the Air Force is to use his Post-9/11 G.I. Bill to study engineering and physics. He said he is even considering coming back to the Air Force as an officer.

He has three siblings, one of whom is a maintainer at Aviano Air Base, Italy, he said.

"He and I would love to be stationed together, but I don't think any Air Force Base could handle two Hollands at once," he joked. "He just put on senior Airman not too long ago, I think. He joined the Air Force a few months after I did."

Though his job comes with a certain implied level of danger, Holland said that some of his most terrifying experiences have occurred off the clock.

He described one accident where he and his brother witnessed a car flip in mid-air while carrying two girls they both knew. He said they pulled the girls out of the car and stayed with them at the scene until help arrived.

"After dealing with something like that, plus being a lifeguard in high school and qualifying as an emergency medical technician (EMT), it just seemed like a natural progression to become a firefighter," he said.