Story by Crystal Farris August 30, 2021 at 06:03PM As a kid, Idaho Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Jeb Baker used to practice punching what he thought was a punching bag hanging up in his family’s garage. It was only after their dog chewed through the bottom of the dark blue duffle, exposing a military uniform, that Jeb realized his father had served in the U.S. Air Force. “He never talked about his career,” said Jeb. “The day I enlisted as an Army firefighter was the day I found out my dad had served as a firefighter in the Air Force. It was interesting that I inadvertently followed in his footsteps.” Today, Jeb serves as a fire chief for the 939th Engineer Fire Fighting Detachment and full time as a firefighter and assistant fire chief for the Idaho Army National Guard’s Orchard Combat Training Center. Last year, his 19-year-old son Pfc. Tyson Baker, joined the Idaho Army National Guard as an infantryman with Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion of the 116th Cavalry Regiment, and later became a seasonal wildland firefighter at the OCTC, continuing his family legacy as a third-generation firefighter and military service member. In August, the father and son team were two of 16 citizen-Soldiers and Airmen who volunteered to assist the Idaho Department of Lands fight wildfires in northern Idaho after Gov. Brad Little declared a state of emergency in July. The group of Guardsmen assigned to Task Force Timber Shield were the first in the Idaho National Guard’s history to deploy as Firefighter Type 2 Red Card certified wildland firefighters.
