Air Force Unit Marks 22nd Day Fighting California Wildfires

A C-130 Hercules from the Air Force Reserve Command's 302nd Airlift Wing at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., equipped with the modular airborne firefighting system, taxies to the runway at McClellan Airfield, Calif., July 5 to begin firefighting operations. Aircraft from the 302nd AW are conducting firefighting support missions as part of the 302nd Air Expeditionary Group. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Hector Garcia.)

On the Home Front:

SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 17, 2008 -- Aircraft of the 302nd Air Expeditionary Group conducted their 22nd day of aerial firefighting support missions July 17 in a coordinated effort to control wildfires in California.

Wednesday, the 302nd AEG military aviation assets performed a total of four air drops delivering 5,600 gallons of fire retardant. The 302nd AEG has performed a total of 989 air drops and have delivered close to 1,360,000 gallons of fire retardant and water since June 26.

C-130 firefighting sortie covered the following fire: four air drops were performed on the Mill fire within the Soda Complex, located in the Mendocino National Forest approximately 15 miles northwest of Upper Lake, Calif., delivering around 5,600 gallons of fire retardant.

The 302nd AEG is currently made up of eight Air Force MAFFS-capable C-130 aircraft and six Marine Corps helicopters located at McClellan Airfield, Calif. and two Navy Reserve helicopters at Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif.

The 302nd AEG C-130 aircraft units include three Air National Guard units - the 145th Airlift Wing from Charlotte, N.C., the 146th Airlift Wing from Channel Islands, Calif., and the 153rd Airlift Wing from Cheyenne, Wyo., and one Air Force Reserve unit -- the 302nd Airlift Wing from Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.

Three Marine helicopter units - Marine Medium Helicopter Training Squadron (HMMT) 164 and Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM) 268, both based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 465 based out of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego - fly CH-46E Sea Knight and CH-53E Sea Stallion helicopters equipped with specialized fire fighting buckets.

United States Navy Reserve helicopters flying at NAS Lemoore are assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Support Squadron (HSC) 85 based out of Naval Air Station North Island, Calif. The squadron flies MH-60S helicopters with 420- and 360-gallon specialized fire fighting buckets.

The 302nd AEG provides unique capabilities and is part of a unified military support effort of U.S. Northern Command to provide assistance to the U.S. Forest Service, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the National Interagency Fire Center.

(Story by by Staff Sergeant Luke Johnson, 302nd Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs.)

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