MAFFS aircraft stage from Kirtland to fight fires

Published June 24, 2011
By Stefan Bocchino
377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Two C-130J Modular Airborne Firefighting System-equipped aircraft arrived here June 15, 2011, to conduct firefighting missions in support of wildfire suppression efforts in the Southwestern United States.

The aircraft are from the 115th Air Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, commanded by Lt. Col. Kurt Holden. That unit is part of the 146th Airlift Wing of the California Air National Guard. The squadron will stage from Kirtland AFB during its mission here.

Two more MAFFS aircraft from the North Carolina Air National Guard's 145th Airlift Wing arrived at Kirtland AFB June 19 to join in efforts to control these wildfires.

The MAFFS aircraft were deployed here at the request of the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. The request is sent to the Secretary of Defense for approval. Once approved, DOD can provide unique firefighting assets to the requesting agencies.

"These aircraft have great performance," said Colonel Holden. "They carry within them a 3,000-gallon tank that can drop any combination of water and/or fire retardant. They are extremely maneuverable and work well in mountainous regions and in the hard-to-reach areas in the fires."

The MAFFS units will work under the operational control of U.S. Northern Command through Air Forces Northern, and missions will be assigned by NIFC or the respective Wildland Fire Manager. The U.S. Northern Command mission includes mitigating the effects of disasters by providing timely, effective support to civil authorities. Firefighting is part of that overall mission.

The 115 AEAS will be tasked by the Forest Service to battle fires in the Southwest region. They will be dispatched through the control center here. Their base of operations will be at Kirtland AFB, however they may go to other bases to reload the aircraft as needed and then return here.

"We have a tradition of assisting firefighting efforts in our community," said Col. Robert L. Maness, 377th Air Base Wing commander. "We have sent units from Kirtland on a number of occasions to help fight wildfires in this region. Now we are providing beddown capabilities and support to Air National Guard air assets who are helping fight the wildfires in the Southwest region."

The 115 AEAS was dispatched on its first mission June 16 to the wildfires near Raton, N.M.

"We'll be here as long as we're needed," said Colonel Holden. "We're very flexible in our operations. We try and keep our footprint small, and our operations are extremely flexible so we can move wherever we need to. I would like to thank Kirtland AFB for their outstanding support. We're just happy to be here and hope we can help."