Wyoming ANG, 90th OSS work together in mission

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  • By Wyoming ANG and 90th Operations Support Squadron
F. E. Warren AFB, Wyo. --  The Wyoming Air National Guard deployed about 25 personnel and three C-130 aircraft Oct. 23, to Naval Air Station Point Mugu, Calif., to fight regional wildfires.

Two of the deployed aircraft carried aerial fire fighting equipment.

The Wyoming Air National Guard is one of four National Guard and Reserve units in the country trained to operate such units. Each unit can drop 3,000 gallons of fire retardant in about 10 seconds.

Col. Harold Reed, 153rd Airlift Wing commander, said these flight crews train long and hard for this type of mission.

"This is a mission where American homes and lives are at stake. This is why we fly," he explained.

This particular mission has one active-duty co-pilot from the 30th Airlift Squadron, which is under operational control of the Wyoming Air National Guard. It's the first time a member of this squadron has been deployed on a fire fighting mission.

"We train together, we fly together, we fight together," said Maj. Mike Emerson, 30th Airlift Squadron, and a co-pilot on this mission. "We are all defenders of our nation."

The 90th Operations Support Squadron Weather Flight also played a part in this mission.

The weather flight supplies the 153rd AW with daily weather reports during training missions. The crews need the reports about four hours before the aircraft leaves the ground.

This day would prove to be a little different.

Maj. Dermot Thiel, 90th OSS, said he took the original call Oct. 23 at about 8 a.m. and immediately relayed the information to the on-duty forecaster, Staff Sgt. Chad Quin, 90th OSS.

The weather flight supplied the 187th Airlift Squadron and 30th AS deploying flight crews with three separate weather briefings, 30 minutes before departure.

The reason was two aircraft changed their flight plans, Sergeant Quin said.

"They were originally scheduled to take off at [12 and 1 p.m] but took off at [10 and 11:10 a.m.]," he explained.

"It was a bit confusing at the beginning when we received six different take-off times," Sergeant Quin said. "However, in humanitarian responses like this, there are always changes and adjusting to those changes is what makes for a successful mission.

"Without our support the Wyoming Air National Guard might not have been able to complete their mission on time, and it is our job to get them the information they need as quickly as we can," Sergeant Quin said.

Capt. Ben Cameron, 153rd AW, agreed that the 90th OSS constantly gives the Air National Guard unit the information it needs in a timely manner.

The National Interagency Fire Center activates the National Guard and Reserve aerial fire fighting units when other fire fighting resources are exhausted.

The Wyoming Air National Guard has performed this mission for more than 30 years. Last year, the unit was activated once to fight fires in Oregon.

(Editor's note: The Wyoming Air Nation Guard and 90th Operations Support Squadron supplied information for this story.)