An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | April 25, 2017

Wildland firefighters and aviators conclude annual training in Boise

By Tech. Sgt. Emerson Marcus Nevada National Guard

BOISE, Idaho — Joint wildland fire training can rack up impressive statistics: 121 sorties. 124 flight hours. 373,900 gallons of water dropped.

Firefighting aircrew members and personnel from four different C-130 military units just concluded a five-day Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System annual training, sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service here. The training included Air National Guard units from California, Nevada and Wyoming and one from the U.S. Air Force Reserve in Colorado. In all, 400 people from multiple agencies worked the training and certification operation.

"The U.S. Forest Service has always been a strong partner with the Department of Defense when it comes to firefighting," said Col. Bryan Allen, commander of the Air Expeditionary Group, which oversees the four military units for the MAFFS mission. "This is probably one of the clearest examples of the benefits of using military aircraft in a civil support role and the U.S. Forest Service is the agency that does it the best.

"The U.S. Forest Service and the four airlift wings within the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve have really figured it out, with everything from logistics to funding, to execution, to standardization and the direct result is we save American lives and property using military crews and equipment in a civil support role. We've really built a strong partnership with the U.S. Forest Service over the last 44 years," Allen said.

Water drops for training were executed on lands within the Boise National Forest and Boise District Bureau of Land Management.

The U.S. Forest Service's large MAFFS equipment — rolled into the back of a C-130 aircraft — can drop up to 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in six seconds through a nozzle on the rear left side of the plane.

The certification training included classroom sessions and flight operations for military flight crews, lead plane pilots and other support personnel from the U.S. Forest Service and other wildland firefighting agencies in advance of the upcoming fire season this summer.

"We have recognized the benefits to combine training periodically for operational consistency and standardization, not only with the air wings but for our personnel, as well," said Kim Christensen, deputy assistant director for operations for the U.S. Forest Service. "The compelling reason to do a combined training again this year was the integration of the 152nd Airlift Wing, from Reno, into the MAFFS mission. We know we have a window of opportunity to get Reno proficient. The speed to that proficiency is important. When you have this kind of setting, with all four wings together, it provides a more complete setting to meet that objective."

The 152nd Airlift Wing was named the newest unit in the MAFFS mission last year, replacing the 145th Airlift Wing, North Carolina Air National Guard. The 145th is in the process of converting to C-17 aircraft.

Participating Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units included the 153rd Airlift Wing from Cheyenne, Wyoming; the 302nd Airlift Wing from Colorado Springs, Colorado; the 146th Airlift Wing from Port Hueneme, California; and the 152nd Airlift Wing from Reno, Nevada. MAFFS is a joint Department of Defense and U.S. Forest Service program designed to provide additional aerial firefighting resources when commercial and private airtankers are no longer able to meet the needs of the forest service.

In the past decade, military C-130s equipped with MAFFS delivered about eight million gallons of fire retardant on wildfires around the U.S.

"Obviously, we have our overseas contingencies we respond to," said Lt. Col. Anthony Machabee, commander of the 152nd Airlift Wing Operations Group. "That is a huge part of what we do in the Air Force. We take a lot of pride in doing that. But this is a domestic operation that we also take a lot of pride in doing. For us, this is a tremendous opportunity to be a part of this mission saving property and life. I can't speak more highly about this mission."

 

 

Related Articles
Air Force Gen. Steve Nordhaus, chief, National Guard Bureau, visits the 49th Missile Defense Battalion, Alaska National Guard, on Fort Greely, Alaska, April 28, 2025. Soldiers of the 49th Missile Defense Battalion operate and secure the ground-based midcourse defense system and are an integral piece of the homeland defense mission to protect the U.S. from intercontinental ballistic missiles using ground-based interceptors.
In Alaska, Nordhaus Sees National Guardsmen Defending the Homeland, Enabling Global Power Projection
By Master Sgt. Zach Sheely | May 1, 2025
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska – From within Alaska’s vast Interior, Alaska National Guardsmen defend the homeland from long-range missile attacks and enable global power projection.Air Force Gen. Steve Nordhaus, the chief of...

Sgt. Jessica Shields, a water purification specialist with the 935th Aviation Support Battalion, Missouri Army National Guard, checks the chlorine levels of the water meant for cooking and cleaning laundry during TRADEWINDS 25 exercise at Teteron Bay, Trinidad and Tobago, April 27, 2025.
Missouri National Guard Water Purification Team Supports TRADEWINDS 25
By Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Crane, | May 1, 2025
TETERON BAY, Trinidad – Few resources are more critical than clean water for sustaining troops in the field. From cooking meals to maintaining hygiene, a steady supply of safe water is essential to keeping Soldiers healthy,...

Group photo of Delta Company, 341st Military Intelligence Battalion Soldiers standing in front of the Seattle / King County Clinic.
Washington Guard Soldiers Support Clinic Through Language and Compassion
By Joseph Siemandel, | May 1, 2025
SEATTLE – A group of Soldiers from the Delta Company, 341st Military Intelligence Battalion, recently volunteered at a Seattle and King County medical clinic to provide language support for visitors receiving free medical,...