Tactical Decision Games
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Tactical
Decision Games
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| TDGS Workbook |
For adult learners, effective training is experiential training. A Chinese proverb says “Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I will understand.” The intent of the WFSTAR National Emphasis Item for 2005 is to encourage local units to involve their firefighters in hands-on training activities during annual refresher training. Ideally, these training activities should allow firefighters to practice in the roles they are expected to perform on the fireground. Tactical Decision Games are an excellent tool for this purpose.
First-hand experience is the most valuable foundation for competent firefighting. However, such experience can be hard to come by and at times tragically unforgiving. Tactical Decision Games (TDGS) are a way to supplement the school of hard knocks. TDGS are basically a low-tech simulation technique. They provide a simple, adaptable, and effective method of repeatedly challenging firefighters with the tactical situations they will face on the fireground. The reason for doing TDGS is to provide firefighters with an opportunity to practice the decision-making process and to practice communicating their decisions to others.
TDGS
are not complicated and they don’t require a lot of time. TDGS
are cheap, portable, and limited only by the imagination of the facilitator.
TDGS can be accomplished either on paper or on a terrain model such
as a sand table. With a few hours of practice, individuals who are competent
instructors of 200 level S-courses can readily become facilitators of
TDGS. The links on this page provide references to learn about TDGS.
Because the purpose of TDGS is to build a breadth of experience, it
is important to use the technique frequently at the crew level. Adding
TDGS to annual refresher training emphasizes the unit’s priority
on safe, effective firefighting. Each game played, like every fire fought,
will add to the collective experience of the wildland fire service.
