CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Select C-130 Hercules cargo plane crews with the Wyoming Air National Guard's 153rd Airlift Wing began preparing for their mission to fight fires from the air with a new training regiment centered on practicing in the skies above Wyoming.
The Airmen are conducting their annual Modular Airborne Firefighting System II training with the U.S. Forest Service at the Wyoming Air National Guard Base here, and also at the Camp Guernsey Joint Training Center in Guernsey, Wyo., this week.
During their training, the Wyoming Air Guard crews are working closely with the U.S. Forest Service, who owns the MAFFS units, to accomplish their mission.
This type of training in the past required all four MAFFS units from across the country – three Air National Guard units and one Air Force Reserve unit – to meet in one spot. However, this year's training is new and more efficient, with the forest service coming out to Cheyenne in order to train the Wyoming Airmen.
"We have forest service liaisons here every time we operate MAFFS, helping us out, getting us what we need to get the mission done," said Air Force Capt. Tim Ray, a C-130 aircraft commander. "And of course we try to help them as best we can, too."
The MAFFS system was established in the 1970s and uses Air National Guard aircraft to release fire retardant and water from tanks onboard the aircraft.
The MAFFS II system was implemented in 2011 and has several improvements over the old system including a more efficient spray pattern; a new trigger system and more dispersal options; an air compressor to assist in reloading water and retardant; and the aircraft are now able to fly with the back end closed, keeping them pressurized and able to fly higher and operate more fuel efficiently.
"It's a great asset to the forest service for firefighting capabilities, bringing in the aerial assets," Ray said. "A lot of the civilian tankers right now are down for various maintenance reasons, so they rely on MAFFS as a backup firefighting force."
The training will encompass upgrade qualifications and include recurring and new training for the various crew positions.
MAFFS planes, accompanied by forest service lead planes, also flew from the Wyoming Air Guard base to Camp Guernsey to drop water loads.
"MAFFS is the most challenging training that we do," Ray said, "you really have to keep your skills sharp and your training current to make sure that you're staying safe while fighting the fires."