Fire Officer & Company Officer Leadership
- Transitioning from doer to Fire Officer / Company Officer.
- Building trust, expectations, and accountability with your crew.
- Balancing station culture with department policy and political reality.
Pensacola Beach, Florida • Hilton Pensacola Beach
Command Officer Boot Camp COBC 2026
A beachfront fire conference offering professional fire service educaiton for Firefighters, Company Officers, and Chief Fire Officers.
Five days on the Gulf of America focused on Leadership, Strategy, Tactics, and Relationships — with a family-friendly schedule and the same County Fire Tactics energy you know from our other annual events ODP, WOFC, HROC, BCBC, and other speciality seminars.
Register Now
March 30 – April 3, 2026 • Command Officer Boot Camp (COBC) on Pensacola Beach
Book Your Beachfront Seat to Learning
COBC 2026 keeps the same proven formula from prior years — a one-of-a-kind, family-friendly fire officer conference focused on leadership, tactics, and relationships — and adds new content influenced by the military training culture of Florida’s 850 corridor.
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March 30 – April 3, 2026 • Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Side Convention Center.
Attendee
Early Registration
$425
Limited early-bird rate for fire officers and firefighters preparing for promotion.
Select AttendeeAttendee
Standard Registration
$750
Full conference access for all five days of Command Officer Boot Camp 2026.
Select AttendeeSpouse
Early Registration
$225
Spouse access to evening socials, discounts, and any lecture sessions they choose to attend.
Select SpouseSpouse
Standard Registration
$350
Ideal for spouses who want to be part of the full COBC beachfront experience.
Select SpouseCOBC: Leadership, Tactics & Relationships on the Beach
Command Officer Boot Camp has become a one-of-a-kind, family-friendly fire officer conference on Pensacola Beach, offering educational sessions on leadership, tactics, and relationships for firefighters and fire officers from across North America.
COBC 2026 continues that tradition with a full week focused on the realities of being a Fire Officer, Station Officer, Company Officer, or Chief Fire Officer Officer. The program is built for those who are responsible for crews and companies, who may function as the Incident Commander on the street, and who want to grow into higher levels of responsibility without losing their connection to the fireground.
Each day is structured to blend motivational keynotes, case studies, and fireground command discussions with honest conversations about marriage, family, mental health, and the weight that comes with making decisions for other people’s lives. COBC is ideal for firefighters preparing for promotion, acting officers, company officers, and chief officers who want to sharpen their command presence while staying grounded in the kitchen-table side of the job.
Core Themes for Fire Officer Development
Final lecture titles and instructor list for COBC 2026 will be announced closer to the conference. The week will draw from proven COBC themes and new content shaped by Military Heritage Training 850.
Note: Agenda blocks and instructors are subject to change. Use this overview to justify registration, funding, and travel approvals for your agency.
Fireground Strategy & Incident Command
- Developing a clear command philosophy for first-due officers.
- Managing the fireground as the Incident Commander while still seeing the stretch.
- Aligning strategy, tactics, and staffing with what arrives in the first five minutes.
Occupancy-Driven Tactics & Case Studies
- Low-rise residential, garden apartments, and townhomes.
- Strip malls, big-box mercantile, and mixed-use occupancies.
- Lessons from line-of-duty deaths that changed modern tactics.
Communication, Culture & Relationships
- Kitchen-table communication and tough conversations with your people.
- Building relationships across shifts, battalions, and neighboring agencies.
- Spouse and family perspectives on what “command” looks like at home.
Training, Simulation & Readiness
- Running realistic company-level drills without burning people out.
- Using command simulations and tabletop exercises to prepare officers.
- Translating research, UL FSRI findings, and after-action reviews into training plans.
Personal, Family & Mental Wellness
- Managing the weight of command decisions and near-misses.
- Protecting your family and marriage while chasing promotions and opportunity.
- Building a network of peers who understand the emotional side of the job.
Military Heritage. Gulf Coast Mindset. Fire Service Focus.
COBC 2026 is influenced by the same coastal training corridor that shapes the Military Heritage Training 850 concept — a stretch of shoreline where America’s military trains, tests, and prepares for real-world missions every day along Florida’s 850 area code.
While COBC is built specifically for the fire service, the week borrows proven ideas from the aviation and special operations community: brief, execute, debrief; clarity of mission; disciplined communications; and the ability to fight through friction when conditions change mid-incident.
Expect conversations about how to apply this mindset to your next first-due: setting intent as the Fire Officer, communicating expectations, and then debriefing honestly with your crew when you get back to the firehouse — just like crews debrief after a flight or a mission along the Gulf.
Why the 850 Matters
- Train where America trains — on a coastline built around mission rehearsal.
- Blend military-style discipline with firehouse realism and culture.
- Go home with command habits that feel repeatable on any shift.
The COBC Beachfront Experience
COBC is more than a lecture room. It’s a full week of networking, family time, and informal conversations that change how you lead your crew when you get home.
Learning, Strategy & Growth
- Experience the passion of Chief Curt Isakson and a lineup of CFT instructors known for straight talk and street-relevant content.
- Stay current on leadership, strategy, and tactics that reflect modern fireground research and real incidents.
- Learn from Fire Officers and Chief Fire Officers who are actively shaping the future of the profession.
- Applicable to all ranks — from the firefighter about to test for lieutenant, to the chief managing a battalion, district, or division.
Location, Networking & Value
- Nightly social events where you can talk tactics, promotion, and real-world challenges with instructors and peers.
- Discounted room rates at Hilton brand properties on the beach, plus free parking.
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and beverage discounts — with extra savings when you bring your CFT tumbler.
- Family-friendly schedule so spouses and kids can enjoy the beach while you’re in class — and see why this work means so much to you.
Five Days of Fire Officer Development
Classroom sessions are scheduled for March 30 – April 3, 2026, typically 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. daily, with a mid-day break to reset and reconnect with your family on the beach. The specific lecture titles and instructors will be announced as we get closer — the structure below gives you a planning framework for travel and funding requests.
COBC Instructors & Fire Officers
The final instructor roster for Command Officer Boot Camp 2026 will be released as we get closer to the event. Below are current confirmed Fire Officers and Chief Fire Officers who will be teaching at COBC 2026.
Be sure to check back for future updates to the final 2026 lineup.
Battalion Chief
Candace Ashby
Indianapolis Fire Department
Deputy Fire Chief
Charlie Dall
Haltom City Fire, TX
Captain (Ret.)
Todd Edwards
Atlanta Fire Rescue
Fire Chief
Jason Hovelman
Florissant Valley Fire
Battalion Chief (Ret.)
Curt Isakson
Escambia County, FL
Deputy Assistant Chief (Ret.)
Frank Leeb
FDNY
Battalion Chief (Ret.)
Corley Moore
Moore, OK
Fire Chief
Eddie Robinson
Cherokee County, GA
Assistant Chief (Ret.)
Dan Shaw
Fairfax County, VA
Fire Chief
Scott Thompson
The Colony, TX
Beachfront Hotel & Free Airport Shuttle (PNS)
COBC 2026 will be hosted at the Hilton Pensacola Beach Gulf Side Convention Center, with additional discounted rooms at neighboring Hilton brand properties.
Venue & Accommodations
- Hilton Pensacola Beach is the primary conference venue with Gulf-front meeting space and easy access to the sand between sessions.
- Additional discounted rooms are available at neighboring Hilton brands and nearby beachfront hotels (details in your registration confirmation).
- Parking is included at the host properties, making it easy to rent a car or drive in with your crew.
Free PNS Airport Shuttle
- County Fire Tactics provides complimentary shuttle service between Pensacola International Airport (PNS) and the Hilton on the primary travel days for COBC.
- Final shuttle windows and sign-up details will be emailed to registered attendees in the weeks leading up to the conference.
- Look for the CFT / Dream Catcher shuttles outside Baggage Claim 3 on arrival day, and outside the Hilton lobby for departures.
What’s Included with Your COBC Registration
5 Days of Instruction
Free PNS Airport Shuttles
Nightly Networking Socials
Local Discount Wristbands
Morning 06:00 Beach Walk
Beverage Discounts
(with CFT tumbler purchase)
