302nd Airlift Wing prepares for future wildfires
(PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo.) — The Air Force Reserve’s 302nd Airlift Wing is gearing up for the upcoming wildfire season. Around 85 personnel will head out to California for a week-long training and certification program in aerial wildland firefighting.
“Uniquely here in Colorado, we’re the only multi-engine large air tanker capability here in the state,” said Lt. Col. Richard Pantusa, 302nd Airlift Wing Chief of Aerial Firefighting. “So, it’s a unique opportunity for us to be able to do something that really affects our homeland. It’s a unique mission and we’re proud to do it.”
To ensure preparedness for potential wildfire challenges, the week of training integrates multiple agencies, helping them support one another along with understanding the newest procedures.
“It’s time to get ready because the fire season is upon us,” Pantusa said. “We’re going to go train with all kinds of partners from state entities and Cal Fire to federal folks, Bureau of Land Management, the United States Forest Service, and a whole host of people from all kinds of agencies, so we can be ready for the season.”
The significance of airtankers in supporting ground crews during wildfires is widely acknowledged across the nation due to the immense impact they hold.
“We also recognize, though, that the military has tremendous capability that may not be necessarily needed at the time for the normal warfighting mission that could be used based on a request from another agency,” said U.S. Northern Command Operations Director, Tim Russel.
When a wildfire arises and the National Interagency Fire Center needs assistance from the Air Force Reserve, a specific system is in place to request a crew to go support the affected area.
“We recognize, as was described earlier, that the mass aircraft that you see here are a unique tool,” Russel said. “That tool could be used for an effective use against the fire based on a request for assistance. As the request comes to the Department of Defense, the Secretary of Defense has authorized the Commander, who is USNORTHCOM, to approve on his behalf any valid request.”
On Friday morning, crews worked away to install a tank system onto one of the planes. This tank has a capacity of up to 3,000 gallons, which can hold either water or fire-retardant, which crews will discharge over the fire.
“One C-130 crew is comprised of six crew members,” Pantusa explained. “There’s a pilot and co-pilot, and a navigator and a flight engineer, we’re all right up front. We have two load masters that operate the system in the back. The load masters are our heroes because they sit in the back… they don’t get to see anything that’s going on outside. They make sure that our system is operating correctly in discharging the retardant.”
The Air Force Reserve recognizes the immense role and responsibility carried by these crews in combating fires from high in the skies. Their importance will be further emphasized and enhanced during the upcoming week of training in California.
“Everything from how to work with the firefighters on the ground to other aircrafts that are responding to our partners that are new in the mission as well,” Pantusa said. “So, we’re all in this together.”
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