Resource typing and updating?

General Discussion
#1

Has the NWCG looked at reorganizing the typing of some resources? It seems that some of the categories could use a facelift. In some of the categories we have gone away from using numbers, Type 1, 2, 3 to using letter or numbers, Type 2IA, VLAT etc.

For example, currently there are 4.5 categories of Air Tanker
VLAT (type 1)
Type 1
Type 2
Type 3
Type 4

Currently, to the best of my knowledge there are NO type 2 tankers in the U.S. fleet of air tankers.
Maybe we should reorganize the size of tankers, to better fit the actual aircraft.
type 1 5000-20,000+ (Current VLATs
Type 2 3000-5000 (Current fleet of MD-87’s, BAE-146, C-130’s, Future 737)
Type 3 1200-3000 (S-2’s and anything new that falls in this area)
Type 4 500-1199 (SEATS)

The same can be said for crews. Excluding CalFire, There are no NWCG type 1 crews (To the best of my knowledge) that aren’t Hotshots anymore. What use to be considered a type 1 crew, 10-15 years ago is now a Type 2IA crew.
Once again we are adding letters to the numbering system.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to have
Type 1 (IHC’s)
Type 2 (Hand crews with the ability to break into squads)
Type 3 (17 crew members with a crewboss)

Or am I just off in a fantasy world here?

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#2

Where would you put FUM crews into that mix? They’re not even on the NWCG typing radar, but are a staple of FS ops.

Fed crews are ordered as a single resource, and never in strike team configuration. Golf strike teams are a CalFire thing.

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#3

A FUM had their name changed to a Wildland Fire Module (WFM) and is ordered as an overhead asset so they carry O numbers on their order. They are not typed but as you stated, very useful.