SACRAMENTO, Ca. - Since fire fighting operations started June 26 at McClellan Airfield, there have been a full range of talented Airmen from the 302nd Air Expeditionary Group on the ground to keep the operations running smoothly.
Senior Master Sgt. Aaron "Stoney" Smith of the Wyoming Air National Guard is the safety officer for the 302nd AEG. He says his job is not just about enforcing rules; it's about preventing accidents before they can happen.
"[The 302nd operating from McClellan is made up of] three different units [and] some of them are not normally around aircraft," Smith said. "So, the main issue is to educate everyone on doing what's safe."
According to Smith, just like any other mission, complacency can set in. He says the first day people are very cautious, but after a while they get comfortable and have a tendency to relax their personal safety standards.
"This is really the time to do a lot of education and remind [the crews] don't do this or don't do that," Smith explained. "What I've done is go around and watch what people are doing"¦If I see something [unsafe], I let them know so we can fix it."
The 302nd AEG's mission relies heavily on the safety of each member of the crew.
"If one person goes down [due to injury or illness], that affects the entire mission," Smith emphasized. "It's very important that everyone is safe [and] that everyone is taking care of themselves."
Smith's job is to not only keep people safe; environmental safety is just as important. During the fire fighting operations, one major concern is the run-off from the retardant reloading operations.
"[The fire retardant] is environmentally friendly, but when you put a lot of anything down the drain, you still want to let the water treatment plant know what's going on," Smith emphasized. "So, if [the water treatment plant] gets a high flux of something, they can be prepared for it."
To help prevent a large amount of fire retardant from getting into the water system, crews have built a holding area for the run-off.
"We pump the run-off [from the holding area] into a tank, test the water [for toxic chemicals] and dispose of it properly," Smith said.
Smith has worked in unit safety for the past two years, and he enjoys being able to help the people of California.
"I'm fortunate to have experience a lot of things that some people don't have the opportunity to do," Smith said. "For me to be able to help a community get past a tough situation is worth the stress and tiredness that we all experience working [long days] to get [the mission] done"¦It gives you a good feeling."
So far, under Smith's careful watch, the 302nd AEG hasn't had any major spills or reportable accidents.
The 302nd AEG is a part of a unified military effort of U.S. Northern Command to provide assistance to the U.S. Forest Service, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the National Interagency Fire Center.