Mather Field, Calif. - While fires continue to rage throughout northern and central California, one dedicated group of Soldiers and Airmen are gaining ground by taking the fight to the fires.
After the call for military support to battle the blazes went out June 22, Joint Task Force Sentinel quickly became the heartbeat of the California National Guard's aviation division providing direct critical support to local and state agencies attempting to gain control of the nearly 2,000 fires burning throughout the state. And since operations began, the unit has dropped nearly three million gallons of water on the fires.
Comprised of more than 200 personnel and two dozen aircraft, including UH-60 Black Hawks and CH-47 Chinooks used for direct fire suppression, UH-1 Hueys and OH-58 Kiowas, the unit is a critical component in the state's firefighting arsenal.
"Our primary mission is to maintain oversight of all California National Guard Army aviation assets, providing logistical support for equipment and personnel and maintenance support for CNG aircraft supporting wildfire operations," said Capt. Keegan Smith, a JTF Sentinel battle captain.
Essentially, the unit is a self-contained support organization providing direct fire support to state agencies battling the blazes, serving as a single point of contact for information flowing between state agencies and the National Guard and providing its own support and sustainment activities.
Smith said the aircraft assigned under the unit come from all over California as well as the rest of the United States.
Units currently operating under the JTF's command include the 1-140th Air Assault Battalion of Los Alamitos, Calif., and the 3-140th Security and Support Helicopter Battalion of Stockton, Calif., in addition to aircraft from other states' National Guard units, such as Idaho, North Dakota, Nebraska and Arizona.
Task Force Mather, which provides flight operations planning and maintenance support from the 640th Aviation Support Battalion, also of Los Alamitos, also falls under JTF Sentinel.
A daunting aspect of the unit's mission is its flight operations, said Army Capt. Benito Garcia, Task Force Mather operations officer, who is responsible for providing aircraft and aircrew tracking and scheduling and maintenance coordination necessary to ensure support is provided when and where it's needed.
"Once a fire develops, the Office of Emergency Services sends a support request via the Joint Operations Center and State Aviation Officer," Garcia said. "Once we get the request, we have 24 hours to respond."
He added that response includes coordinating aircraft and aircrews, gathering flight information, such as weather and other factors that could impact missions, coordinating with partner agencies, getting current mission briefings and finally launching to the area of operations.
Once on site, crews will spend about seven days supporting fires, flying anywhere from three to six hours per day. Flight time for aircrews is closely monitored by the flight planning section to ensure crews are swapped out regularly.
"The deployment of Guard assets has gone far beyond anything we've done in the past," said Scott Watson, a CAL FIRE Wildland battalion chief, who is currently serving as agency's National Guard program coordinator. "[JTF Sentinel] has truly been an asset by acting as a single point of contact allowing us to gather verified, accurate information regarding operations, planning and finance.
"We've been able to work as a team to develop a significant capability needed to maximize support between our agencies and speed aid to Californians affected by the large number of fires burning throughout the state."
Fortunately, the Guard maintains an "always ready" posture including completing annual fire suppression training ahead of the fire season. Garcia added some of the aircrews have decades of experience fighting fires from the air.
But despite the challenges the unit is eager to provide support and glad to be helping at home. "This is real world support for us. That's what the National Guard is all about, helping our fellow residents," Smith said. "No matter what our role is, we're always ready to go."