The culture of the USDA Forest Service has been shaped by the maxim 'Certainly it can be done' (Pinchot 1947), borrowed from the Coast Guard by the agency's first Chief, Gifford Pinchot (1905-10). From the moment employees joined the Forest Service beginning in 1905, they regarded conservation as a noble cause and their work as critical to national well-being. They took pride in overcoming difficulty and danger to accomplish their work, which often took place in high-risk environments, particularly on wildland fires. The agency's 'can-do' culture emboldened employees, including firefighters, to take risks to get the job done.