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Position Naming Board

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Mission Statement

Mission Statement

The Position Naming Board (PNB) provides national leadership to maintain incident management position title and mnemonic consistency throughout the wildland fire community.

Body

photo of firefighters with forest burning in the background. Decorative.Primary Objectives

  • Establish business rules and processes for managing the position list in the system of record.
  • Maintain definitions of titles and associated mnemonics.

Request for Change

The NWCG Position Naming Board (PNB) is the authority for the approval of all position codes and position titles assigned for each position for incident management mobilization that are utilized by the wildland fire community. All position codes and position titles additions or modifications must be PNB approved prior to utilization in the national mobilization system.

Use PNB Request for Change Form to submit the following:

  1. Request new position title and position code
  2. Modification to existing position title and/or position code
  3. Notify of inactivation of an existing position

Process

All change requests must be submitted via the online request form.

All position code and position title requests submitted to the PNB for consideration must adhere to the NWCG PMS Data Standards for Position Codes and Position Titles.

All requests must be validated by the submitter's Incident and Position Standards Committee (IPSC) agency representative to ensure the request meets the need of the agency.

  • Requests submitted directly to the PNB prior to IPSC agency representative validation will be sent to the representative for validation. No action by the PNB will occur until validated/approved by the representative.
  • Requests submitted to the PNB by an IPSC agency representative is assumed to be agency validated and will be addressed by the PNB at the next scheduled meeting. 

Requests will only be addressed at the next scheduled PNB quarterly meeting due to impacts to the qualification and ordering systems. Quarterly meetings (March, June, September, December) occur on the third Thursday of the month.

Once a decision has been reached, the PNB chair will inform the requester of the decision and document the decision on the RFC form.

Instructions

  1. Email Address: Enter the email address of the person submitting the request.
  2. Requesting Change Select the appropriate agency or select the NWCG Committee requesting the change. For the selection of State or NWCG Committee, indicate which one at the next screen.
  3. Requester Information Please provide the name, agency, home unit, and telephone number of the person initiating the request so the board may make contact for additional information, if necessary.
  4. Request Type
    • New position: Enter requested new position title and position code
    • Change to existing title and/or code: Identify current position and identify requested change.
    • Inactivation of existing position: Identify position requested to be inactivated and the effective date.
  5. Description of the Proposal
    • Position Description: Detailed description of the positions duties and responsibility when assigned to an incident.
    • Description of Issue and Reason for Change: Describe the issue the proposal is intended to address or reason for the change.
    • Qualification Guides and Systems Affected: Identify the qualification documents and the applications that will be affected.
    • Supporting Documents: Is there supporting documentation that needs to be submitted to support request? If yes, submitter will be contacted for the document(s) after request is submitted. 

Position List (Mnemonics)

The position list represents all PNB approved positions being, or have been, utilized by the wildland fire community for incident management mobilization.

Chair: Gina Papke

NWCG Coordinator: Lamb, Erica

Parent Committee: Incident and Position Standards Committee

Meeting Schedule: Quarterly on the 3rd Thursday (March, June, Sept, Dec)

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Questions?  Please contact:
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The National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) recognizes July 2, 2025, as National Wildland Firefighter Day (NWFFD). Established in 2022, NWFFD honors the dedication of wildland firefighters and support personnel. This day falls within the 2025 Week of Remembrance (June 30 - July 6), providing an opportunity to renew our commitment to wildland firefighter safety while remembering those who have fallen in the line of duty.

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Questions?  Please contact:
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Date: June 10, 2025
If you have questions, please visit our FAQ page. 
If your question is not answered there, you can 
submit your question using our Contact Us form. 
 

The S-130, Firefighter Training (Blended), equips new wildland firefighters with essential skills through a mix of online learning and hands-on training. The course features a required online component and an instructor-led exercise, reinforcing online concepts with practical performance-based training.

The course builds competencies in wildland fire operations, safety, and equipment use, applicable across various operational environments. Both the online component and instructor-led field exercise must be completed to receive a certificate of completion. Students are required to finish the prerequisite S-190, Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior, before enrolling in S-130, Firefighter Training (Blended).

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S-130, Firefighter Training (Blended)

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