Posted on Jun 30, 2023
1LT Engineer Officer
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I am a National Guardsman who has operated a chainsaw professionally for nearly 10 years. As the former XO/OO of a Combat Engineer company within a BEB, I had two chainsaws on my hand-receipt. I am interested in providing chainsaw safety and operator training to soldiers based on my civilian knowledge and experience.

I'm still learning the ins and outs of a the Army Licensing program, but I know the Army requires "licensing" for some seeming rather simple equipment. I have tried searching APD for any doctrine on the subject and have struck out. My master driver has looked in G-Army for "chainsaw" and struck out.

Is a gas-powered chainsaw a "license-able" piece of equipment? If so, how can I become licensed and how can I teach and license others? In other words, if I put on a training course, and am asked to provide Army credentials showing I am qualified to do so, what credentials should I have?

Thanks!
Edited >1 y ago
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Responses: 6
COL Randall C.
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Edited >1 y ago
Does the Army have a certification program on chainsaw operations? Surprisingly, no (or if they do, it's some super-secret squirrel type of training that only those inducted into the Cabal of Illuminati Engineers are allowed to know about).

Way back when, I led up a team developing a DSCA handbook and one of the things we came across was that, while there were safety regulations* and guidelines about using a chainsaw, we could find no indication that there was any such certification or licensing program (we even reached out to TRADOC, the Engineer School, and the HQA G-3/5/7 and they weren't able to find anything).

Since you used one professionally, I assume you know that there are certification programs available, but the only that I've encountered for the Army were local policies at the installation or unit to get certified though OSHA training* or through the Forestry Department* (again, that's assuming they had such a policy - otherwise it was safety training).
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* https://www.publications.usace.army.mil/portals/76/publications/engineermanuals/em_385-1-1.pdf
* https://www.fs.usda.gov/t-d/pubs/htmlpubs/htm06672804/page01.htm
* https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/2018-11/fy10_sh-20823-10_chainsawsafety-eng.pdf
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CPT Lawrence Cable
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Not that I have ever seen. We did run a unit "certification" which was basically the safety, care and use from the equipments manual and recorded it on something like this form. ChainsawUseAHA.pd
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SSG 12 B Instructor
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1LT (Join to see) As a 12B reclass course instructor we do not do any certification on this during the course. We only introduce the chainsaw as part of our tools and power tolls identification go-no station...surprisingly most people don't confuse the chainsaw, LOL. As far as operating it, it's unit specific in the uses so defer to your units SOP and conduct the training according to Army training/safety standards and you should be fine, sir.
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