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The Department of Defense announced the winners of the 2023 DOD Fire and Emergency Services Awards, recognizing exceptional achievements by its fire departments, fire officers, and firefighters, May 3.
Representatives from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, and Defense Logistics Agency, comprising the DOD F&ES Working Group, chose nine winners from a pool of 41 nominations.
Among this year’s winners were Deputy Fire Chief Adam J. Montoya and Interim Training Chief Tobias Lang from U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz.
Lt. Col. David Castillo, USAG Rheinland-Pfalz director of emergency services and garrison provost marshal, said that both Montoya and Lang were honored by the recognition.
“They are very humble guys,” he said, “they won because they are incredibly hard working, innovative, and committed to enhancing the professionalism and performance of this Fire Department.”
Deputy Fire Chief Adam J. Montoya received the Civilian Fire Officer of the Year award for his management of the Army’s largest fire department in Europe. He oversaw six fire stations, two dispatch centers, and 235 firefighters, protecting 40,000 individuals and $13 billion in assets without any fire loss. Montoya also authored a significant mutual aid agreement between the United States and host nation partners and established a training alliance with host nation responders, along with reciprocal arrangements with the German Red Cross.
Interim Training Chief Tobias Lang was honored as the Fire Service Instructor of the Year for his management of the training program for 235 firefighters. He supervised 1,200 classes and 5,000 hours of training, resulting in zero fire loss and maintaining mission readiness to protect $13 billion in assets. Lang also designed the department’s rookie training program, established a working group on active shooter situations, and conducted training exercises with school emergency management/crisis intervention teams and military police responders to enhance prevention, mitigation, and response for such incidents.
“I think above all, they won because of their dedication to this community and garrison,” Castillo said. “They are genuine professionals who deeply care.”
The U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz’s Fire Department earned the opportunity to represent the Installation Management Command in the F&ES Awards competition by winning the Best Large Fire Department category at the IMCOM level earlier this year. Montoya and Lange were similarly acknowledged as the best in IMCOM in their respective categories of Civilian Fire Officer and Fire Service Instructor.
