The ladder

Five steps from curiosity to command.

Each level is a prerequisite for the next. Start with the level that matches your current role, then read the one above it.

OrientationBasicTeam LeaderSection LeaderCommand
PRE-LADDER
ILDC Orientation

Before you lead,
see what leading is.

One day. No grade. No certificate. Every question answered.

Most people in ICS have been told they are leaders. Few were taught what that means during their ICS courses. Orientation is a full day in which the instructors introduce the Profession of Leadership. You'll learn what the program is, why leadership is a profession rather than a soft skill, and what each level will ask of you as your career climbs to greater heights.

Who it is for
  • Anyone in an ICS organization, from first-year members to twenty-year veterans
  • Supervisors deciding whom to send up the ladder
  • Agencies evaluating the program before buying a full course
What you leave with

A clear picture of the standard, and whether you are ready for it.

What you will do
  • Work through the paramedic-on-the-fire case (see Basic, below) with an instructor demonstrating the method
  • Preview the Seven Hats (which jobs the team needs covered) and Tactical Patience (when waiting is the better decision)
  • Afternoon in the field: a slow-paced scenario with the decisions narrated as they happen
  • Leave with a self-inventory and a clear sense of whether Basic is your next step
The standardNothing is scored. The instructors lead the day and demonstrate the method; you take part and ask questions.
1 day
06:30
None
12 – 30
$725Minimum 12 to run.
Reserve a seat in OrientationSee dates
LEVEL I
ILDC Basic

You don't need the title to lead.
You need the skill.

Two days, graded, in the classroom and in the field.

A paramedic walked off a fire. An EMT on the crew could fix the UTV and knew the crew contract cold, and the paramedic felt he was no longer in charge. Nobody was incompetent. He was tired, and his ego did the rest. Basic teaches you to see that moment coming, in yourself and in the person next to you, and to lead through it whether or not your name is on the org chart.

Who it is for
  • Any ICS professional, any position, any tenure
  • People who lead informally and want to do it on purpose
  • The entry point to the graded ladder
What you leave with

ILDC Basic certificate. Earned, not attended.

What you will do
  • Making ICS decisions as a leader, not only as a position-holder
  • The Seven Hats: which role the team needs right now
  • Tactical Patience: when slower is better
  • Day one: a field scenario with an ambiguous leadership assignment; roles rotate, and the debrief traces who actually led
  • Day two: a second scenario with the roles reversed, a session on fatigue and ego on the fireline, and an After Action Review the students run
The standardGraded. Rubric-scored field exercise, written case analysis, conduct. Not everyone passes.
2 days
06:30
None
20 – 24
$1,295Minimum 20 to run. Working lunch provided; lodging separate.
Reserve a seat in BasicSee dates
LEVEL II
ILDC Team Leader

Now people answer to you.
That changes everything.

Four days for the first formal leadership role.

Crew boss. Squad leader. Task force leader. EMS crew lead. SAR team leader. The day you get the role, every decision you make lands on other people, and some of them are going to disagree with you. They may even be right. Team Leader is built for that day, that moment.

Who it is for
  • Professionals entering, or recently in, their first formal leadership role
  • Team-level leaders in fire, EMS, SAR, wildland, and transport
  • Anyone the agency is about to hand a crew
What you leave with

ILDC Team Leader certificate and the ability to run an After Action Review.

What you will do
  • Trace a decision's impact through the team, the assignment, and the incident
  • Gather input fast and know when you have enough
  • Consensus: when it strengthens a decision and when it gets people hurt
  • Three field scenarios; in the second, a team member pushes back, and may be right; the third asks you to change a plan you defended the day before
  • Own a bad call in front of the team and lead again the next morning
The standardGraded. Field rubric, AAR facilitation, written decision-impact analysis, conduct across all four days.
4 days
06:30
Basic or waiver
16 – 20
$2,195Minimum 16 to run. Working lunch provided; lodging separate.
Reserve a seat in Team LeaderSee dates
LEVEL III
ILDC Section Leader

Your call. Their doubt.
Hold the line.

Eight days, delivered as two four-day blocks with a real-world application or case study between them, for leaders who lead other leaders, and for what comes the morning after a hard call.

At Unit, Group, Division, and Section level you are no longer directing a crew. You are directing people who run crews, who have their own experience, their own opinions, and real skin in the game. Some of them believe they know better. Sometimes they do. Section Leader is where leadership stops being a soft skill and becomes a profession with standards you can be held to.

Who it is for
  • Leaders moving from one team to Unit, Group, Division, or Section responsibility
  • Anyone whose subordinates are themselves leaders
  • Section Chiefs developing their successors
What you leave with

ILDC Section Leader certificate. This is the credential that moves careers.

What you will do
  • Make decisions that stand up to pushback from experienced professionals, and explain them so your reasoning stands up too
  • Tell the difference between a professional disagreement and a challenge to your authority, and respond to each the right way
  • Handle the argument: keep it on the problem, out of the team, and end it with a decision
  • Handle the day after: restore the relationship, take what was right in their position, adjust without caving
  • Three field scenarios, two multi-team; the third carries over into the next morning by design
  • Between the blocks: a real-world application or case study in your own organization, written up and graded in Block 2
The standardGraded. Field performance, written decision analysis, evaluations from classmates playing the leaders who report to you, conduct. You may be required to repeat the level.
8 days (4 + 4)
06:30
Team Leader or waiver
12 – 16
$5,750Minimum 12 to run. Working lunch provided; lodging separate. Wildland firefighters with 10+ years may be allowed to skip Basic and Team Leader by waiver.
Reserve a seat in Section LeaderSee dates
LEVEL IV
ILDC Command

Everything is yours now.
Including you.

Ten days, delivered as two five-day blocks with a 60 to 90 day field assignment between them.

Section Chief. Branch Director. Incident Commander. Unified Command. At this level the failures are not tactical. They are the loss of your own motivation, the day you cannot inspire anyone, burnout, a failed objective, a miscommunication with consequences, a loss of life. Command is about leading Sections and Branches as a system, leading beside partners whose priorities are not yours, and managing the one person no one else can manage for you: yourself.

Who it is for
  • Section Chiefs, Branch Directors, Deputy and Incident Commanders
  • People being prepared for command
  • Agency Administrators and executives with ICS responsibility
What you leave with

ILDC Command credential, a personal development plan, and an individual review with the Principal Instructor.

What you will do
  • State your intent clearly enough that the leaders under you can act without further instruction
  • Operate within, and lead, a Unified Command
  • Run After Action Reviews during the incident, between operational periods, not only after it ends
  • Block 1: command decision making, self-management, a full-day multi-section exercise
  • Field assignment: apply the practices in your own organization, log it, self-assess twice
  • Block 2: loss-of-life case, Unified Command breakdown, succession, and a two-day continuous incident
The standardGraded across both blocks by an instructor panel. The field assignment log counts.
10 days (5 + 5)
06:30
Section Leader or waiver
10 – 14
$8,500Minimum 10 to run. Working lunch provided; lodging separate. Qualified Section Chiefs may skip Levels I–III by waiver after a two-hour refresher.
Reserve a seat in CommandSee dates

Pick your level.
Reserve your seat.

Not sure which one? Call and ask.

Every certificate states the contact hours you completed. CEUs are not awarded until ClearSight holds IACET accreditation, which we expect to apply for in 2027. Your materials, scores, and credential stay on your student page permanently.

Reserve a seatSee dates