Deepwater Horizon Response

A C-130 aircraft from the 910th Airlift Wing, Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio, drops an oil-dispersing chemical into the Gulf of Mexico as part of the Deepwater Horizon Response effort May 5, 2010. Reservists from the 910th AW are in Mississippi to assist in cleanup efforts. The wing specializes in aerial spray and is the Department of Defense's only large area fixed-wing aerial spray unit. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Adrian Cadiz)

Youngstown Airmen take part in oil spill cleanup

Published May 7, 2010
By 910th Airlift Wing Public Affairs Office

YOUNGSTOWN AIR RESERVE STATION, Ohio -- Two C-130H aircraft and crews from here are spraying oil-dispersing agents as part of an effort to clean up the massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

More than 40 Citizen Airmen from Youngstown's 910th Airlift Wing are operating out of Stennis International Airport, Miss. They began operations at Stennis on May 1.

In their first 18 sorties over the water, they delivered more than 29,000 gallons of dispersant in an area of 6,000 acres.

This is the first time in the history of the Department of Defense's large area fixed-wing aerial spray program that the oil dispersing capability has been used in an actual emergency.

The objective of their efforts is to neutralize the spill with oil dispersing agents. The spill is threatening animal life and the ecosystem along the Gulf coast.

The Youngstown reservists are operating in a joint-service effort under the direction of President Obama and a tasking by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

High winds and turbulent waters initially hampered the operations, according to reservists from the 910th AW aerial spray operations team. They expect to remain involved in the effort as long as they are needed based on mission requirements.

Air Force Reserve Command's 910th aerial spray oil dispersing mission is part of a whole-of-government response to this incident that also includes the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard.

For more than a decade, the 910th has participated in oil spill cleanup exercises in the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. This training has sharpened the skills of the Air Force reservists to respond to these kinds of situations.

In addition to dispersing oil slicks, the aerial spray capability is designed for larvicide and insect eradication as well as providing vegetation control at bombing ranges. (Air Force Reserve Command News Service)