Time to Crank Up Aerial Firefighters

June 1, 2006

Time to Crank Up Aerial Firefighters: Airmen of Air Force Reserve Command’s 302nd Airlift Wing at Peterson AFB, Colo., have to recertify their ability to conduct modular airborne fire fighting system missions to suppress wild fires each year—and the season is coming up. The AFRC crews only get the call if all civilian aircraft are exhausted, but they have to remain sharp. The AFRC aircrews fly eight sorties, which include 16 dry passes over drop areas and eight wet passes, said Maj. Mark Steward, the 302nd chief of safety. Members of the units are very familiar with the season, having fought numerous fires since taking over the Reserve portion of the MAFFS mission in 1993.

Related Content

Brown: Air Force May Never ‘Slap the Table’ on ACE

Sept. 27, 2022
As the Air Force moves forward with its efforts to operationalize the concept of agile combat employment, leaders need to embrace an iterative approach that builds on itself, recognizing that ACE may never be fully complete, said Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr.

Pentagon Releases Report Detailing Civilian Casualties in 2021

Sept. 27, 2022
The Defense Department released its annual report on civilian casualties, the first since the department came under increased pressure to better mitigate the harm of U.S. operations and assess their aftermath. The report details 12 total deaths from U.S. forces in 2021.

China ‘Knows What It’s Doing,’ Pursuing Fighter Similar to NGAD, Kelly Says

Sept. 27, 2022
China’s approach to developing a sixth-generation fighter is similar to that of the Air Force—a family of systems with an “exponential” improvement in stealth over current platforms—and China both knows how to pursue that technology and is moving rapidly to develop it iteratively, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Mark D.…

Burt: Space Force Needs to ‘Get Out of Our Own Way,’ Enable Companies Instead

Sept. 23, 2022
Unlike nearly every other innovative technology throughout history, Maj. Gen. DeAnna M. Burt believes the space enterprise emerged backward. “Every other domain started with an entrepreneur who built something,” Burt, the special assistant to the Chief of Space Operations, told an audience at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference.

Russia Increasing ‘Very Concerning’ Behavior in Syria, AFCENT Commander Says

Sept. 23, 2022
The U.S. and Russian militaries have operated in an uneasy coexistence in Syria since the Kremlin sent forces there in 2015 to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. But in recent months, Russian transport planes have flown near Al-Tanf Garrison in southeast Syria—where U.S. troops have been working with Syrian fighters…