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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: Erica Lamb

Parent Committee: Incident and Position Standards Committee

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

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NWCG Latest Announcements

NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Chainsaw Operations, PMS 212, and Next Generation Position Task Book for Basic Faller Are Now Available

Date: April 14, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
Hazard Tree and Tree Felling Subcommittee

The updated NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Chainsaw Operations, PMS 212, and NWCG Position Task Book for Basic Faller (FAL3), PMS 311-19 are now available.

The NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Chainsaw Operations, PMS 212 includes position standards designed to be used in conjunction with the Next Generation Position Task Book (Next Gen PTB). The Next Gen PTB for Basic Faller (FAL3) includes an evaluation guide with suggested rating elements to consider when assessing trainees.

References:

NWCG Standards For Wildland Fire Chainsaw Operations, PMS 212

NWCG Position Task Book for Basic Faller (FAL3), PMS 311-119

NWCG Basic Faller (FAL3)

RMC Memo 25-01: Summary of Updates to Safety Officer Positions

Date: April 9, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
RMC Member Eric Fransted

The Risk Management Committee (RMC) serves as the position steward for all Safety Officer incident positions and continues to improve position standards, training, and naming conventions. The implementation of Complex Incident Management (CIM) required changes to position titles. RMC collaborated with the NWCG Incident Position Standards Committee (IPSC) to propose and implement these updates. 

References:

RMC Memo 25-01: Summary of Updates to Safety Officer Positions 

NWCG Position Catalog

Updated, NWCG Guide to Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination, PMS 412

Date: April 8, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
Wildland Fire Investigation Subcommittee

PMS 412 provides guidance for wildland fire investigations. This guide outlines recommended procedures, practices, techniques, and methods to promote a systematic approach. The last update to this publication was in 2016.

References:

NWCG Guide to Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination PMS 412

Updated NWCG Standards for Airtanker Base Operations, PMS 508

Date: March 31, 2025
Questions?  Please contact:
Airtanker Base Operations Unit

The updated NWCG Standards for Airtanker Base Operations (SABO), PMS 508 standardizes operations and procedures at interagency airtanker bases to ensure safe, efficient, and effective operations in support of interagency goals and objectives.

References:

NWCG Standards for Airtanker Base Operations, PMS 508