Some might call that tough love; others might call it being a hard butt. In either case, Hackworth wanted — more than anything else — for his people to survive their experience and was willing to be a little unpopular at the time. I fear that we don't have enough officers willing to take that extra step, to put some starch back into a rigid training program that involves work. La-Z-Boy training might work for clerks and typists, but it does not work for those who have to perform at 150% when the chips are down.

Hackworth died May 4, 2005, at the age of 74. He left a legacy of courage and commitment that few would be wrong by emulating.

"It's human nature to start taking things for granted again when danger is not banging loudly on the door," Hackworth once said. Apathy forms in the long gaps between the need to be trained and the demand to produce a skill on the fireground. Don't let apathy be the reason your troops aren't ready.

For a guy with only a seventh-grade education when he entered the Merchant Marines at age 14, Hackworth lived a life of duty and diligence that was marked by his devotion to the value of training and the quest for perfection.

We could use a few more leaders like Hackworth in our business.

With more than 40 years in the fire service, Ronny J. Coleman has served as fire chief in Fullerton and San Clemente, Calif., and was the fire marshal of the state of California from 1992 to 1999. He is a certified fire chief and a master instructor in the California Fire Service Training and Education System. A Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers, he has an associate's degree in fire science, a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in vocational education.

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