By Gay Heafner
CNHI
Friday, April 23, 2010 —
CHARLOTTE, N.C. …. The North Carolina Air National Guard is co-hosting the annual Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) training, to be held April 24 to May 1, 2010 with the National Forest Service in Greenville S.C. Once certified, pilots can assist with firefighting efforts on national forest lands nationwide. Up to 80 practice flights per day will be visible in Western N.C. and S.C. upstate areas. Flight operations will be based at the South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center in Greenville, S.C.
The military C-130s equipped with slide-in MAFFS units can drop up to 3,000 gallons of retardant or water on wildfires. The retardant is dropped ahead of a fire to slow its spread. Its bright red color helps the pilots determine the accuracy of their drops. The retardant contains a fertilizer which helps promote new plant growth following the fire season.
Trained military units with the MAFFS equipment are called on to supplement other firefighting resources during periods of high wild land fire activity. During the annual training and re-certification, the planes will drop water on target sites in National Forests in Georgia, North and South Carolina.
MAFFS support specialist and aviators from the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, NC Forest Service and CAL FIRE will be leading the week-long training. Included will be classroom time, flight training and recertification for military flight crews, civilian lead plane pilots and various support personnel.
Military personnel involved in the training include air and ground personnel from the 153rd Airlift Wing of the Wyoming Air National Guard (ANG) based in Cheyenne Wyoming, the 145th Air Wing of the North Carolina ANG based in Charlotte North Carolina, the 146th Air Wing of the California ANG, Port Hueneme, California and the 302nd Airlift Wing of the Air Force Reserves from Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Congress established the authority for the MAFFS program in the early 1970’s to support wild land firefighting through an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service. The military aircraft are requested by the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) and activated through the U.S. Northern Command, based on an agreement with the Department of Defense.
Note to Editors: A media opportunity has been scheduled for April 29, from 10am to 2pm in Greenville S.C., more details to follow. Please contact Lt. Col. Rose Dunlap at 980.721.4032 as soon as possible but not later than Wednesday, April 28, at 2 p.m. for ramp access requirements.
