Bandit Healer

@kdfdmedic

1Fury, 82nd ABN vet. OEF VIII & X. DSS in Iraq. Firefighter/Paramedic. Ça ira, les aristocrates à la lanterne. Real Gs move in silence like lasagna. #KillYourHeroes #MaximumEffort #IAFF

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Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· 14d

Looks like I saw the map wrong. Still, it’s directly east of where I lived. And it’s a lot of closely packed house.

Picture of the map of the Spokane Fairview fire.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· 14d

The aftermath of a good afternoon of mom and dad working in/around the garden and the kiddos playing at the neighbors and coming home and cooling off. The oldest now gets an indoor “camp out” with popcorn and The Phantom Menace. I doubt any of us last past 2100, lol.

A back patio covered with water. A black dog is in the picture with a kids water table in the background.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· 29d

Yes and can you blame them?

The Odyssey is actually the third entry in Nolan's "Man who will risk it all and/or give up everything to go live happily ever after with Anne Hathaway" trilogy.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Jul 3

The intensity of an early morning thunderstorm could not deter me from getting started on a 5lb rack of baby back ribs.

Seasoned ribs on a smoker near a garden.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Jun 18

Area dog unaffected by the high pitched screams of a toddler. Not captured: the small twitching of her paws as she dreams.

A black Labrador retriever mix laying on a couch with her head on a pillow.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Jun 14

We’re celebrating a birthday in this house and it’s infinitely better than the one in DC. Less fighting too…..probably.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Jun 6

Seriously. The clouds were insane an hour ago.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Jun 6

Nature is cool.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Jun 4

With Lamar Odom, of all people.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Jun 3

This is the most dad coded game ever. My best…..so far.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· May 31

You’re welcome for my White Monster drinking habits, Monster Energy.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· May 26

Leftover graduation food drop off season has arrived at the FD.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· May 13

Years of hanging IVs gave me a shot of inspiration for my garden.

A DIY slow drip irrigation system with a water bottle taped to a wooden pole. IV tubing is stuck in the bottom of the water bottle and dripping onto a plant:

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Apr 25

Big things happening in our house tonight…..we’re introducing our soon-to-be 6 year old daughter to Star Wars….

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Mar 17

Trout hatcheries are instant wins for kindergartners.

A child throwing food into a trout hatchery.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Mar 2

World is rough right now so I made deep dish pizza. It’s not Geno’s, Pequod’s, Lou’s, or Giordano’s but it’s pretty damn tasty all the same.

Chicago style deep dish pizza sitting on a pizza pan.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Mar 1

Called it.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Feb 27

Pakistan, rn:

Arrested Development “Did It Work For Them?” meme.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Jan 29

This is honestly more pathetic than “I would have joined but” bullshit you hear from some people. “I would have been in Delta but I couldn’t swim.” “I would have flown helicopters except I dropped out of high school.”

This image captures a moment that exists in the quiet "what-ifs" of a long and honorable career.

It is a portrait of the man who might have been, standing on the tarmac under a West Texas-sized sky, the silhouette of a Black Hawk behind him and the weight of a Delta Force patch on his shoulders.

Here is the story of that dream, the hurdles that stood in its way, and the legacy of the 26 years that followed.

- The Audition Under the Stars -

The air in Germany was crisp, a sharp contrast to the dusty heat of West Texas. For a young soldier, the presence of the Delta Force recruiters felt like a glimpse into another world—one of elite precision and shadow operations. I stood among them, heart pounding, ready to prove that a kid with a GED and a relentless drive could hold his own.

The physical tests were grueling, but I was used to hard work.

Then came the water.

Growing up in a place where the dirt was plenty and the water was scarce, I hadn’t mastered the art of swimming. In that pool, the dream of joining "The Unit" slipped through my fingers. It wasn’t a lack of courage; it was a lack of a skill I’d never had the chance to learn.

- The Flight School Packet -

I pivoted. If I couldn't be on the ground with Delta, I would be in the air above them.

The Flight Aptitude Selection Test (FAST) was my mountain, and I climbed it. I cleared the Class I flight physical, gathered my endorsements, and built a "packet" that was flawless.

For a brief window, the Army waived the college requirement. My future was sitting on a desk at Fort Rucker, Alabama, literal moments away from an approval that would have changed my life.

Then, the requirements shifted back:
two years of college required.

As a high school dropout, I didn't see a way forward through the books. I gave up on the cockpit and remained a SHORAD-FAAR (Short Range Air Defense - Forward Area Alerting Radar) operator and a CBRN (Chemival, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear) specialist.

- From Operator to Architect of Leaders -

I didn’t become the pilot in the black flight suit, but I became something that influenced many soldiers who did in their military careers.

Over 26 years—spanning the Active Component, the U.S. Army Reserves, and the Army National Guard—I found my true calling not just in technical expertise, but in mentorship and facilitation.

The pinnacle of this journey was serving as a Senior Leadership Course (SLC) Academy Instructor (formely known as BNCOC/ANCOC). In those classrooms, I wasn't just teaching tactics; I was shaping the future Command Sergeants Major and senior NCOs of our Army.

I realized that while I never sat in a college classroom as a student to reach my initial dream, I ended my career standing at the front of a classroom, commanding the respect of the Army's up and coming senior Non-Commissioned Officers.

- Every Role Was Vital -

* The FAAR Operator: Provided the early warning eyes for air defense.
* The CBRN Specialist: Stood as the line of defense against invisible threats.
* The SLC Instructor: Built the leaders who would carry the torch into the future.

- The Lesson for the Next Generation -

My story is one of two truths that every soldier should carry in their rucksack:

* Eliminate the "What-Ifs":
Never let a lack of education or a temporary setback be the reason you stop. If the requirement is college, go to college. If the requirement is a swim test, find a pool. Exhaust every option so you never have to wonder "what could have been."

Bloom Where You Are Planted:
I didn't get the silver wings, but I earned the respect of the Senior Leadership Academy. Where you are today is a great place to serve your nation.

I served my country for 26 years in many capacities. I may not have flown the helicopter, but I trained the leaders who protected the ground it landed on. I’ve mentored young men and women to be all they could be.

That is a legacy far more enduring than any dream left behind in a swimming pool in Germany.

Image is a poor AI depiction of a soldier dressed in all black, purportedly to be the author’s idea of a Delta Force operator standing in front of UH-60 Blackhawk with several other AI depictions of operators.

AI depiction of a name plate entitled:

“SFC JAMES GOFF, US ARMY-USAR-MOARNG, SHORAD-FAAR Operator, CBRN Specialist, Senior Leadership Academy Instructor, 1980-2007”

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Dec 25

Sheet pan pimento cheese chicken with potatoes and green beans for the boys at the station tonight. “Damn fine work” I was told.

Firehouse kitchen countertop with two sheet pans featuring pimento cheese chicken, potatoes, and green beans.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Dec 16

That’s my LT and one of the other FF/PM’s on my crew and basically one of my best friends in the fire service. Safely evacuated a couple of cats from a room and contents fire yesterday. And I am going to absolutely pour it up their ass for this. This is worth at least two tubs of ice cream 😆😃

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Nov 29

And now we’re educating the girls on a Christmas staple.

A TV in a living room, decorated for Christmas, showing the opening credits of White Christmas.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Nov 29

I may not tell anyone I won the lottery but there will be signs.

Man using a flamethrower to clear a snowy driveway.

Picture of Holland, Michigan’s heated streets.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Nov 15

It’s chili and cinnamon roll season, folks. And not the small ones. The big honking ones with cream cheese frosting. Like this beaut.

Picture of a scrumptious cinnamon roll covered in frosting.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Nov 11

I’m on the right and possibly the hardest I looked in my career. Great truck and group of guys. @acetomatocompany.bsky.social can attest to it.

A picture of a group of infantry paratroopers taken somewhere near Deh Rawood, Uruzgan province, Afghanistan. They are smoking cigars and looking at the camera.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Nov 11

Giving my oldest a little maritime history lesson.

YouTube video with lyrics of Gordon Lightfoot’s “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Nov 7

The after effects of a battery fire from either a scooter or golf cart. Never determined. Hottest fire I’ve ever been a part of. If you look closely on the third pic, you can see the spread into the grass. I took that from where our engine stopped and my face was hot getting out.

Exterior view of a garage fire that shows fire spread to the lawn.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Nov 7

Looping @pjmatt.bsky.social here. So yeah, the first part and subsequent article seems like a fuel tank compromise. This frame looks like a smaller 18v or 20v battery for tools and such. As soon as I put water on the exterior compartments of this fire in 2019, I saw the same type of sparks.

Picture of a burnt up utility truck on an interstate in Iowa.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Nov 4

Our red maple is so vibrant we’re going to apply to be honorary Canadians.

Picture of a red maple tree in full bloom.

Bandit Healer@kdfdmedic· Nov 1

Finish product and another, brighter rainbow to boot.