GOSHEN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A Goshen Township Fire & EMS lieutenant has completed a national training program that prepares him to represent the department’s honor guard at funerals and formal ceremonies.
Lt. Dustin Engled graduated Friday from the National Honor Guard Academy, a five-day course hosted by Loveland-Symmes Fire Department at its Station 61 in Symmes Township, the department said in a Facebook post. Thirty-two firefighters, police officers and emergency medical personnel from four states took part in the class.
The course covered basic drill and ceremonial movements, church and casket protocol, flag etiquette and honor guard commander leadership training, culminating in a mock line-of-duty funeral procession, according to the National Honor Guard Academy. The academy was founded by fire service honor guard members who wanted to raise the professionalism and presentation of emergency service honor guard units, and it now travels nationally to train fire, police and EMS agencies.
Engled has served with Goshen Township Fire & EMS since he was promoted to full-time firefighter/paramedic in May 2018 and was advanced to lieutenant in September 2024, according to the department. He is a legacy member of the department: his father, Doug Engled Sr., is a retired assistant chief, his mother served with the Goshen Life Squad, and his brother continues as a part-time firefighter/paramedic.
Before joining the department, Engled enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating from Goshen High School and the Scarlet Oaks career program, where he studied fire and EMS. He served a tour in Afghanistan in 2013 during a four-year military commitment. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in fire and safety engineering technology and recently completed a master’s degree in fire executive leadership and emergency services management. Beyond his duties as a lieutenant, firefighter and paramedic, Engled coordinates the department’s drone team and oversees several of its information-technology projects, according to the department.
Goshen Township Fire & EMS operates two stations with a combined force of 19 full-time and 35 part-time personnel and about six volunteers, staffing an average of eight people per shift. Its headquarters, Station 18 on state Route 28, reopened in May 2026 after being rebuilt following a direct hit from an EF2 tornado in July 2022. The department also provides free CPR and first-aid training and conducts weekly smoke-detector checks for residents as part of its community risk-reduction programs.
The information contained in this story was obtained from Goshen Township Fire & EMS.