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Airborne fire fighting crews prepare for wildland fires

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Tim Taylor
  • 302nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. --  Reservists from the 302nd Airlift Wing here are preparing for yet another war. This one is not against a foreign enemy, but a domestic foe. It’s the war on wildland fires that destroy millions of acres of land and thousands of homes, and kills immeasurable wildlife each year.

After a wildland fire ignites, civilian contract aircraft are called into action. When all civilian contract options are exhausted, the military fire fighting mission can be activated through an agreement between the Department of the Interior and the Department of Defense. Before the 302nd AW Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System mission can be activated, the U.S. Forest Service requires the aircrews to be certified annually. This year’s certification took place in May in Cheyenne, Wyo.

“Pilots, co-pilots and loadmasters are required to certify annually to fly MAFFS missions,” said Maj. Mark Steward, 302nd AW chief of safety and a MAFFS pilot. “Pilots fly eight sorties to include 16 dry passes over the drop area and eight wet passes. Co-pilots and loadmasters require eight dry passes and four wet passes. There is required ground training for all crew positions, too.”

Dry passes are flyovers of drop zones designated by the forest service and wet passes are when the aircraft actually drops retardant near the fire. During certification, aircrews use water to cut costs.

“Pilots and co-pilots are required to be highly experienced and proficient at airdrop and be low-level qualified,” said Major Steward. “Loadmasters are required to be experienced mission-ready, airdrop-qualified. All crew members need to be able to respond to mission tasking upon short notice during the wildland fire season.”

This year’s certification combined experienced 302nd MAFFS members with some fresh faces – due to the wing’s activation in support of U.S. Central Command operations in Southwest Asia. Air Force Reserve Command’s 302nd AW, along with Air National Guard units from California, North Carolina and Wyoming, endured high winds, rain and snow to prepare for the upcoming fire season, which is expected to be extremely demanding on fire crews, according to forest service officials.

“Drought conditions exist in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and Oklahoma, and across the South and along the East Coast,” said Neal Hitchcock, U.S. Forest Service assistant deputy operations director. “Primarily, our concern is in the Southwest.”

The southwestern United States is an area the 302nd MAFFS members are very familiar with, having fought numerous fires there since taking over the Reserve portion of MAFFS mission in 1993. In April, forest service officials said this year’s fire season could be as bad in Colorado as it was in 2002, the worst fire season on record for the state.

Aircrews are not the only ones who have to prepare for the fire season. The 302nd Maintenance Squadron must have highly-trained and highly-qualified aircraft maintainers at the ready as well. Like the fliers, the maintainers are a mix of MAFFS veterans and rookies due to the activation.

“The relationships developed between rookies and veterans are always unique to watch,” said Chief Master Sgt. Ron Bebow, 302nd MXS maintenance superintendent. “You start out with people who do not know much about what is happening and are apprehensive on what and how much to do. By the end of the first day, they become a ‘well-oiled-machine.’ Each turnaround, their confidence level increases and their sense of self-accomplishment increase each sortie. They look forward to the aircraft coming back and seeing if they can improve each turnaround time. It becomes a challenge that they see the benefits immediately.”

The veterans are proud of their knowledge and accomplishments, according to the chief.

“They take every opportunity to explain their ‘lessons learned’ from the past, and it helps the rookies learn a better way of doing business,” he said. “In return, the rookies see the operation through a fresh set of eyes and pass along their thoughts of a better way of performing the work. It is awesome to watch the change – very, very unique mentorship opportunity in that the mentorship goes in both directions.”

One rookie was Senior Airman Alex Sanchez, 302nd MXS supply management journeyman, who relished the opportunity to try something a little different.

“I liked it,” he said. “I liked the hands-on. I was controlling the hose, but it took me three or four times to get the hang of it.”

The hose he speaks of is a 60-foot long, 5-inch diameter monstrosity which connects to the MAFFS unit. It pumps the water or retardant into the tanks, which hold a total of 3,000 gallons. Maintainers also run power equipment, refuel the C-130s and marshal the aircraft in and out of the pits. The pits are the areas where the aircraft park while being prepped for the next sortie and are manned by forest service and military people.

“We had a considerable number of new people who needed to learn a multitude of new techniques involved in aircraft preparation, quick turnarounds, operation of support equipment, planning ahead for the unexpected, unfavorable weather, etc.,” said Chief Bebow. “Each year is a little different than the year before. I have been doing this for about 15 years, and every year I learn more than I did the year before.” (AFRC News Service)