The ladder

Five steps from curiosity to command.

Each level is a prerequisite for the next. Read the one you are standing on, then 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. Almost none have been taught what that means. Orientation is a full day with the instructors doing the work: what the program is, why leadership is a profession and not a personality, and what each level of the ladder will ask of you.

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

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

What you will do
  • Walk the paramedic-on-the-fire case with an instructor showing the method
  • Preview the Seven Hats and Tactical Patience
  • Afternoon in the field: a slow-paced scenario with the decisions narrated as they happen
  • Leave with a self-inventory and a clear read on whether Basic is your next step
The standardNothing is scored. This is the one day we carry you.
1 day
06:30
None
Up to 30
$200Free with a reserved Basic seat.
Reserve a seat in OrientationSee dates
LEVEL I
ILDC Basic

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

One day, graded, in the classroom and in the field.

A paramedic walked off a fire because an EMT who could fix the UTV and read the contract made him feel he wasn't 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
  • ICS decision making as a leadership act
  • The Seven Hats: which role the team needs right now
  • Tactical Patience: when slower is better
  • Half-day field scenario with an ambiguous leadership assignment; roles rotate, the debrief follows the influence
The standardGraded. Rubric-scored field exercise, written case analysis, conduct. Not everyone passes.
1 day
06:30
None
12 – 20
$500Minimum 12 to run.
Reserve a seat in BasicSee dates
LEVEL II
ILDC Team Leader

Now people answer to you.
That changes everything.

Three 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 while being partly right. Team Leader is built for that day and the ones after it.

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
  • Two field scenarios; the second puts a team member who is partly right in your way
  • 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 three days.
3 days
06:30
Basic or waiver
12 – 16
$1,300Minimum 12 to run. Lodging and meals separate.
Reserve a seat in Team LeaderSee dates
LEVEL III
ILDC Section Leader

Your call. Their doubt.
Hold the line.

Five days for leaders who lead other leaders. Then fix it tomorrow.

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 building a bench
What you leave with

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

What you will do
  • Make decisions that hold under pressure from professionals who disagree, and explain them in a way that holds too
  • Tell a professional disagreement from a challenge to your authority, and answer each correctly
  • 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 runs across a day boundary on purpose
The standardGraded. Field performance, written decision analysis, peer evaluation from subordinate-leader roles, conduct. Repeat may be required.
5 days
06:30
Team Leader or waiver
12 – 16
$2,300Minimum 12 to run. Wildland firefighters with 10+ years may waive Levels I and II.
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 you cannot delegate: yourself.

Who it is for
  • Section Chiefs, Branch Directors, Deputy and Incident Commanders
  • Those 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
  • Set intent so subordinate leaders act without further instruction
  • Operate within, and lead, a Unified Command
  • Run After Action Reviews during the incident, not after it
  • 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
$6,500Minimum 10 to run. Qualified Section Chiefs may waive Levels I–III with a two-hour refresher.
Reserve a seat in CommandSee dates

Pick your level.
Reserve your seat.

Not sure which one? Call and ask. The waiver review is free.

Reserve a seatSee dates