Army boatmen train firefighters in California

Sgt. Nicholas Chapman, a watercraft operator from the 467th Transportation Company out of Tacoma, Wash. trains MOTCO firefighter Jason Madariaga to operate a fireboat. Madariaga is one of several firefighters Chapman is training so they can earn their Coast Guard certification and better fight fires aboard ships in the bay.

CONCORD, CA, UNITED STATES
03.01.2018
Story by Sgt. 1st Class Matt Scotten
Personnel Force Innovation 

CONCORD, Calif. – When people think of the San Francisco Bay Area, several things come to mind, including cable cars, the Golden Gate Bridge, the 49ers, Full House, Rice-a-Roni and more. What many people do not know is that the Bay Area is also home to a military installation responsible for providing terminal and distribution services in support of deploying and redeploying forces in the California Area of Responsibility.

Military Ocean Terminal Concord (MOTCO) sits right on the bay, nestled among tall, green mountains just east of Oakland and San Francisco. Shipments of ammunition arrive at the installation to be shipped to troops abroad, or brought inland via the railhead located on the installation. To address the inherent safety concerns related to transporting ammunition, the installation has two federal fire stations right on the base. However, installation leaders are always working to make their firefighting capabilities more robust.

The 834th Transportation Battalion, Surface Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC), has activated two U.S. Army Reserve watercraft operators and outfitted a fireboat for use in fighting potential fires on the water. This is a critical asset when ships operate in the bay to deliver or receive ammunitions or other supplies to and from MOTCO. The Soldiers are responsible for teaching the installation’s experienced firemen to pilot a watercraft so they can earn their Coast Guard certification. The Soldiers were brought on active duty orders through the Personnel Force Innovation program to complete the mission.

Sgt. Gabriel Espinosa, an Elma, Wash. native and reservist from the 4th Battalion, 414th Regiment, 104th Training Division, has been on the ground for about a year and a half as the watercraft engineer for the fireboat and has enjoyed the new environment and challenge. “I never thought it would be possible to get this much experience in the Army Reserve. I hope to stay for the full three years we are allowed. When I move on, I know I’ll miss it. It’s rewarding getting to train guys who have never been on a boat before.”

“These Soldiers have been on the forefront of getting the boat program up and running. Their work here has been absolutely crucial,” said Jason Roberts, administrative officer, 834th Transportation Battalion, who coordinated the Soldiers’ orders via PFI. “Without those two guys to train our firefighters on the boats, this program couldn’t have worked as well as it has.”

Firemen on the installation are constantly watchful of fires aboard ships as they come in to the installation. However, without the fireboat, firemen would be forced to fight ship fires from the shore, obviously limiting their ability to safeguard ships, passengers, and cargo. The ability to deploy a fireboat manned by trained firefighters will greatly increase the installation’s ability to respond if a fire occurred in the bay.

“We are one of only two military ocean terminals in the government’s inventory. We specialize in the large volume shipment of ammunition all over the world,” said Lt. Col. James Wiley, commander, 834th Transportation Battalion, SDDC. “The PFI program gave us the chance to find the expertise we really needed both on the deck side, as well as the engineer side of watercraft operations. It’s really expanded our capability. Without them, we would have been forced to look into a training curriculum contracted through the civilian sector.”

MOTOC’s out-of-the-box approach not only saves money and boosts their capability, the Soldiers benefit as well. Their benefit comes in the form of hands-on experience, and a lot of it. As Reserve Soldiers, it would be difficult to get this much time working in their chosen fields, restricted to opportunities during monthly drill weekends and annual training exercises. While on orders at MOTCO, they typically take four firefighters out on the water every day. The goal may be to teach firefighters to operate a fireboat, but the Soldiers also get an opportunity to learn about firefighting in the process.

Sgt. Nicholas Chapman, a watercraft operator from the 467th Transportation Company out of Tacoma, Wash., said, “I always wanted to be a firefighter. Here, I have the opportunity to operate the only fireboat on the West Coast. This has been an awesome experience. Not only did I have the chance to teach firefighters to operate the boat, I’ve learned a lot from them, as well, and they are some of the best in the business.”

Chapman said he has loved his time at MOTCO so much that he is exploring opportunities to transition to permanent active duty once his tour at Concord is over.

Once enough firefighters have earned their Coast Guard certification, these Soldiers will return to their Reserve units having gained unique and valuable skills and experiences they can share with their peers. In the meantime, the bay is their training ground, their office is a boat, and Military Ocean Terminal Concord is a safer place for their efforts.

Ventura County fires hit home for 146th Airlift Wing

Photo By Maj. Kimberly Holman | Staff Sgt. Tim Dawson stands in front of the ashes and debris that was once his home in Ventura, California. The Thomas Fire destroyed his and 4 other Airmen's homes from the 146th Airlift Wing, forcing about 50 wing members to evacuate as the fire raged through the county. (US Air National Guard photo by Maj. Kimberly Holman)

VENTURA, CA, UNITED STATES

12.11.2017

Story by Maj. Kimberly Holman 

146 Airlift Wing, Public Affairs, California Air National Guard  

“I was sleeping when I found out,” recalled Staff Sgt. Tim Dawson of the 146th Airlift Wing. The call startled him half-awake but he ignored it. He was trying to get a good night’s rest before work the next day. Twenty minutes later the phone rang again and he forced himself into semi-consciousness. “It was my neighbor who lives just above my apartment complex on the hill. He told me they were evacuating and that the fire was really close.”

That neighbor on the hill was 1st Lt. Mike Constable, a pilot with the 146th. Dawson said he could see Constable and his roommates packing things into their cars in the driveway. 

“I looked out my window, and could see the sky above the ridge by my home was glowing really orange and red already. My wife and I decided at that point to not do any more research about where the fire was, to just grab what we could get and go somewhere safe.” 

Constable’s house somehow managed to dodge the flames, although the garage was burned, trees were scorched and the front fence was burned on one corner. Dawson’s three-level, 51-unit apartment complex, however, burned to the ground.

The Thomas Fire started on Dec. 4 in Santa Paula, and driven by winds reported to be gusting up to 70 miles-per-hour, the flames screamed across the hillsides toward Ojai and Ventura. Numerous fires leapfrogged from wind-driven embers across Ventura and Los Angeles Counties the following day, and about 50 people from the 146 AW evacuated; five wingmembers lost their homes.

“[My wife and I] each have camping packs, so we stuffed some clothes in,” Dawson went on, describing in detail what exactly he grabbed. Some things were necessity, a few were sentimental, he said. “I knew I couldn’t grab the whole closet, but I grabbed an old baseball cap that one of my buddies had given me as a groomsman gift,” he said, shaking his head at the randomness of some of the packing. “We lost a lot of photos that unfortunately aren’t replaceable because they weren’t backed up digitally, but we know we got out with what’s really important.”

“On the way out the door I managed to grab my two surfboards and a wetsuit,” he added. Surfing has provided some much-needed relaxation and has been therapeutic over the past week, he said. 

Dawson and his wife stopped to take a last look back toward the hills where their home sat just as the flames crested the ridge, and watched as the fire continued its march onward. At about 2 a.m. friends began calling to say they could see his apartment complex on fire. 

He describes experiencing this horrific event as being very surreal. “It’s like I know it’s happening to me, but it’s like it’s I’m watching it happening to someone else.”

Just six days after this tragedy Dawson is back at work and amongst his fellow Guardsmen who he calls family. Dawson works as a C-130 aircraft crew chief with the Maintenance Squadron. “The routine of the mission here I think is helpful,” he said. The past week has been spent “trying to find normal again, getting our ducks in a row…not the way things used to be, but just kind of starting over.” 

“The Guard family takes care of each other,” he added, recalling the two phone calls his friend Constable had made making sure he was getting out.

At the top of his list of those who have been reaching out and taking care of them is Julie Morency, the Airman and Family Readiness Program Manager. “They’ve been calling me every day, setting me up with places to get emergency clothing within the first few days. They gave us a listing of available apartments and all of the available organizations out there to help us. It’s been amazing. My Guard family has been huge in trying to help us get back on our feet,” he said. 

“People from this wing immediately began calling us offering up their personal homes, spare rooms, motorhomes, trailers, cash for food and clothing, the outpouring of support was amazing,” said Morency. “But that’s just what people do around here. It’s not unusual at all. We didn’t even ask, people just offered to do anything they could to help.” 

Dawson forgot to mention one important item that he threw into the car that night. Somehow without even thinking about it he grabbed his uniform and military boots. Perhaps it was so automatic that it didn’t even occur to him as being something he packed—of course his uniform was in the car. “Because it was Monday and I had to go to work the next day…It’s my job… I needed to be ready to go and help out however I could,” he said when asked why he packed it.

Upon reflection Dawson says he and his wife consider themselves very lucky. “We went down to the fairgrounds and saw people still sleeping on cots, who got out with just the clothes on their backs…Some aren’t as fortunate to have the family and support system we have…We’re making due… All we lost were physical connections to memories we’ll never lose. We’re better than a fire burning our things up.”

Proposed Fire Training Facility Kindles Community Relationships for the NCANG

Courtesy Photo | U.S. Air Force Col. Michael "Troy" Gerock announces the Air National Guard partnership with the Office of State Fire Marshal in the construction of a new Emergency Training Center while in Raleigh North Carolina, Dec 7, 2017. The facility will provide a centralized location to be used for advanced fire and emergency training courses

CHARLOTTE, NC, UNITED STATES

12.14.2017

Story by Tech. Sgt. Nathan Clark 

145th Airlift Wing, Public Affairs North Carolina Air National Guard  

The N.C. Air National Guard has partnered with the Office of State Fire Marshal to build the N.C. Emergency Training Center, a facility at the Stanly County Airport that would provide specialized training for emergency responders statewide while sparking economic growth to the region. 

For many years, the firefighters of the N.C. Air National Guard utilized the school and facility at Good Fellow Air Force Base in Texas. The new training center in Stanly County will reduce the need for Airmen to travel out of state, while providing a center for local non-military first responders to utilize as well. 

“It's really a critical area and when you look at it from the training perspective there's nothing that we do that's more important than being trained and ready for virtually any type of event,” said Chief Master Sgt. Daryl Cook, Fire Emergency Services Chief for the 145th Airlift Wing.

The proposed facility will offer specialized classes in natural disaster response, structural collapse, interior firefighting, exterior firefighting, and urban search and rescue, making it only the second of its kind in the nation. 

“We want to be a one-stop shop for virtually any type of emergency response training that our first responders could be faced with,” said Cook. “Right now, we don't have a State Fire Academy here in North Carolina so there are several thousand firefighters that don't have a good location to get both basic and advanced courses in the fire department disciplines.”

By partnering with the 145th Airlift Wing the Office of State Fire Marshal is able to build the center with no upfront costs, and complete it using a combination of Federal and State Funding. Once finished the estimated cost to house and train emergency responders will be a mere $30 a day, making it a viable option for emergency units that would otherwise lack the funds for advanced training. 

For Chief Cook the important take away is that none of this could have worked without teamwork, “We [the N.C. Air National Guard] couldn't do it alone. The Office of State Fire Marshal understood they couldn't do it alone, and I think this is going to set an outstanding precedent across the guard for what can and will happen when you put a partnership like this together.”

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Late-fall prescribed burns help cut wildfire risk, improve habitat

Photo By Scott Sturkol | Post personnel oversee a prescribed burn Nov. 30, 2017, at Range 100 on South Post at Fort McCoy, Wis. Personnel with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Emergency Services Fire Department; Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch; Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security; and the Colorado State University Center of Environmental Management of Military Lands under contract with the post help coordinate each prescribed burn at the post. Prescribed burns, generally, are done in the spring and fall seasons because weather conditions are most favorable at those times. Prescribed burns also improve wildlife habitat, control invasive plant species, restore and maintain native plant communities, and reduce wildfire potential. (U.S. Army Photo by Scott T. Sturkol, Public Affairs Office, Fort McCoy, Wis.)

FORT MCCOY, WI, UNITED STATES

12.12.2017

Story by Scott Sturkol       

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office    

Fort McCoy’s last prescribed burns of the year took place Nov. 29 to Dec. 1 at areas on North Post and South Post.

Personnel with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Emergency Services Fire Department; Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch; Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security; and the Colorado State University Center of Environmental Management of Military Lands under contract with the post help coordinate each prescribed burn at the post. 

Prescribed burns, generally, are done in the spring and fall seasons because weather conditions are most favorable at those times, said Jim Kerkman, installation forester with the Directorate of Public Works (DPW) Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch. Prescribed burns also improve wildlife habitat, control invasive plant species, restore and maintain native plant communities, and reduce wildfire potential. 

“Prescribed burns, generally, are done in the spring and fall seasons because weather conditions are most favorable at those times,” Kerkman said.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources defines prescribed burns as a way to “improve wildlife habitat, control invasive plant species, restore and maintain native plant communities and reduce wildfire potential.” 

Charles Mentzel, Fort McCoy forestry technician who oversaw the burns, said it was an ideal opportunity to prepare the area prior to the start of the Operation Cold Steel II exercise in 2018.

“Prescribed burns help reduce wildfire potential in areas all around the post — especially in places where military training is taking place,” Mentzel said.

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NY Air Guard MQ-9 operators deploy to assist in fight against California fires

Syracuse, NY – A remotely piloted MQ-9 Reaper operated by the New York Air National Guard’s 174th Attack Wing flies a routine training mission over Central New York on October 23, 2016. The California Air National Guard has been using MQ-9s as an eye-in-the-sky to help firefighters focus their efforts in fighthing the massive Thomas Fire. (U.S. Air National Guard Photo by Master Sgt. Eric Miller/released)

SYRACUSE, NY, UNITED STATES

12.14.2017

Story by Eric Durr 

New York National Guard  

SYRACUSE, N.Y.-- Nine members of the New York Air National Guard’s 174th Attack Wing have been dispatched to California to assist the California Air National Guard’s 163rd Attack Wing in flying MQ-9 remotely piloted aircraft which have been assisting local authorities in fighting the massive Thomas Fire. 

The Airmen, who are based at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, are trained to fly and operate the MQ-9 remotely piloted aircraft which is used by the military for surveillance and combat air patrol missions.

The California Air National Guard has been employing the MQ-9 as an eye-in-the-sky and supporting Cal Fire and other state agencies responding to the wildfires which have burned 234,000 acres and destroyed more than 1000 buildings. 

The New York Airmen will assist California Air Guardsmen who have been stretched thin during this additional domestic response operation. 

According to Col. Michael Smith, the commander of the 174th Attack Wing, “That’s a horrible incident they are dealing with and we’re glad to help in any way we can.”

"New Yorkers always help their neighbors in their time of need and I thank the members of 174th Attack Wing for representing the very best of the Empire State spirit as they assist our friends in California," New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said. "As California works day and night to stop these fires, New York is proud to provide reinforcements and the use of advanced technology to help identify where to dispatch firefighting efforts to end this tragic event."

The MQ-9s have been providing overhead video to fire managers using sensors that can see through smoke. The aircraft fly at high altitudes and are not effected by high winds which can keep helicopters from operating over fire areas. They also have the ability to loiter over a given area for over 14 hours. 

This ability to orbit continuously over a geographic area provides the incident commander a much clearer picture of the situation and enables them to make better response decisions. 

The wing deployed three MQ-9 pilots, three sensor operators – the Airmen responsible for operating the state of the art cameras and other sensor systems—and three imagery analysts on Dec. 13. The Airmen are due to return to New York on Dec. 22.

The 174th Attack Wing has been operating the MQ-9 since 2009. Unit members train U.S. Air Force and allied personnel in MQ-9 flight and maintenance operations. The wing’s Airmen also regularly fly MQ-9s on combat and training missions from a control center at Hancock Field.

This will be the first time the wing has deployed its MQ-9 resources in support of civil authorities.