Youngstown aerial spray team fights cheat grass, potential fires in Idaho Published Sept. 30, 2014 By Master Sgt. Bob Barko Jr. 910th Airlift Wing Public Affairs Office MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho -- An aerial spray team from the 910th Airlift Wing, Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio, helped prevent the spread of invasive cheat grass and the potential of fires on the Saylor Creek bomb range here during a 12-day mission that ended Sept. 26. The team, made up of aircrews and entomologists, aerial spray technicians, aircraft maintainers and communcations specialists also supported the base's Gunfighter Skies Air Show and Open House by providing their specially modified C-130 Hercules as a static display for the event. Carl Rudden, 366th Civil Engineer Squadron natural resource manager, said the installation needed the 910th's unique aerial spray capability to aid in fire prevention on the base's Saylor Creek Range. The Air Force Reserve unit is the Department of Defense's only large-area, fixed-wing aerial spray asset. "We are trying to kill invasive cheat grass here," said Rudden. The 910th's C-130H Hercules equipped with the Modular Aerial Spray System dispensed herbicide over 3,200 acres, or five square miles -- an area of ground one mile by five miles wide. The areas wiil be replanted with native sagebrush which pose a lower fire risk or hazard. This aerial spray mission was the latest in a continuing annual schedule of flights to control cheat grass as part of the fire prevention program on the installation's bombing ranges. This was the first mission as lead entomologist for Maj. Jen Remmers, who brings a wealth of experience to the mission. "If it has more than or less than two legs, it's mine," said Remmers, referring to anything from mosquitoes, biting midges and filth flies to snakes that can cause problems for military and civilian personnel on and around military installations across the U.S. and around the world. In her civilian career, Remmers is a disease vector management consultant. And, while, the target of this particular mission may not be a disease-carrying insect, the methods to eradicate the threat are very similar. "The concepts for (the aerial spray application) of pesticide and herbicide are very similar," said Remmers. "We have to pick the right product for the job and use just enough to get it done. It's about judicious use of the product. We work very hard to be good stewards of the environment." Rudden said the cheat grass is Middle Eastern in origin, coming from the areas of Iran, Iraq, "the 'stans (Afghanistan, Pakitan, etc.)" and more as well as the countries of Mongolia and China. The story of how the invader vegetation got here goes back over 150 years. "The cheat grass was mixed in with wheat seed that came to California from overseas in the 1850s," Rudeen said. "It eventually made its way east to here in Idaho." He said it got it's name from cattlemen and cowboys who used the unscrupulous practice of cutting the feed for their animals by adding the grass. "They would say 'you cheated me with this stuff' hence the name cheat grass," said Rudden. The grass is highly flamable. "The heat from a vehicle's exhaust system can cause it to ignite, so removing it reduces the chance these areas will burn," the natural resources manager said, "This will also help re-establish the sagebrush and also protect the Greater Sage Grouse's habitat." The bird is a candidate for the endangered species list. The grouse, along with mule deer and antelope and other animals, use the area's native sagebrush for a living habitat and as part of their diet. "The cheat grass changes the fire pattern and harms these species," said Rudden. "It causes there to be a much shorter time between fires," he continued. "The sagebrush is slow to recover when it burns off so we are grateful that the 910th can come out here to help us with deal with this issue." While there may be other ways to deal with the cheat grass and the fire threat it poses to the environment on the ranges near Mountain Home, the 910th's aerial spray capability is the quickest and most cost effective way to get accomplish the mission. "Doing this from the ground would take forever and be expensive," said Lt. Col. John Kochansky, 910th chief of Aerial Spray and commander for the first week of the mission. "We can accomplish the job in a shorter amount of time and at a lower cost to the government," Kochansky continued. "Our fliers, maintainers, support and communications personnel also all get valuable training from this mission."