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Reserve unit participates in San Francisco 'Safe Seas 2006' oil spill response exercise

  • Published
  • By Capt. Brent Davis
  • 910th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MOFFETT FEDERAL AIRFIELD, Calif. --  Aerial spray operations and maintenance people from 910th Airlift Wing at Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio, continue to hone their aerial spray application skills.

Most of the time aerial spray crews are working to control biting insects such as mosquitoes and flies. During the second week of August, they are responding to a different type of aerial spray mission.

Joining with Air Force Reserve Command's 910th AW are the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard to participate in the largest ever oil spill response exercise in waters off the coast of San Francisco Aug. 9. The name of the exercise is "Safe Seas 2006."

Flying alone won't get the job done because the C-130 aircraft used for the mission must be specially equipped with a Modular Aerial Spray System in order to spray a simulated detergent over the spill site during the exercise.

"Two to four hours are needed in order to install and prepare the MASS system," said Tech. Sgt. Tom Kocis, an aerial spray maintenance technician with the 910th Maintenance Squadron. "The system has to be run and calibrated to acquire the correct flow rate of chemical [in this case water for the exercise]. In addition, spray nozzles and booms need to be installed as well as scheduling and extensive coordination with the operators."

Concern for safety is a top priority for the aerial spray maintenance technicians during any type of aerial spray mission.

"We're all highly trained coming from a variety of maintenance backgrounds such as jet engines, fuels, hydraulics and crew chiefs to name a few," said Sergeant Kocis. "We take our responsibilities very seriously, and there really is no difference in the way we prepare for any spray mission - exercise or actual.

"Sometimes we are subjected to 95-degree-days while wearing full protective gear, but no matter what, we always maintain an outstanding safety standard," he added.

Maintenance and aircrew members must have trust and cooperation in order to successfully complete an aerial spray mission.

"We're all ready to jump in and help one another regardless of position," said Maj. Jeff Shaffer, exercise mission commander. "If the maintenance technicians say it's ready, that's good enough for us. We trust them that they are providing us with a fully mission capable aircraft to fulfill the mission requests."

During the Aug. 9 exercise, the specially-modified C-130 aircraft will be flown at an amazing 100 feet above the San Francisco waters to simulate applying a detergent in cooperation with the U.S. Coast Guard.

Last fall reservists from the 910th AW sprayed for insects over the devastated coastal areas of Louisiana and Texas after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita left countless people homeless.

The 910th AW is home to the only full-time, fixed-wing aerial spray capability in the Department of Defense. Last year the reservists from the unit sprayed nearly three million acres of property to control mosquitoes and filth flies as citizens and relief workers struggled to regain some sense of normalcy in the chaotic environment that ensued. (AFRC News Service)