Saving Eagles

Photo By Airman 1st Class Elijah Chevalier | Airmen assigned to the 48th Civil Engineer Squadron train while at F-15E Strike Eagle taxis by at Royal Air Force Lakeneheath, England, Feb. 8. RAF Lakenheath firefighters are trained to respond to a wide variety of emergencies. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Eli Chevalier) 

BRANDON, SFK, UNITED KINGDOM
02.13.2018
Story by Airman 1st Class Elijah Chevalier
48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs 

ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England – Sometimes things go wrong. Even with routine maintenance, an aircraft can lose cabin pressure or hydraulics can fail.
In these emergency situations pilots have the peace of mind that highly trained individuals are waiting for them when they land.
Air Force firefighters are always ready to respond not only to typical fire emergencies, but to aircraft related ones as well.
“We are always prepared for anything that can go wrong,” said Staff Sgt. Alexander McCaul, 48th Civil Engineer Squadron station chief. “We train to be familiar with all aspects of every aircraft in the Air Force and how to tailor our skillset during times of emergency.”
Firefighters work hand in hand with power production Airmen to train and certify them on the use of their barrier arresting kits, which act as an external emergency brake for the aircraft. The firefighters can then assist in resetting them.
“The fire department takes the lead on the whole emergency, making sure the personnel are okay,” said Staff Sgt. Spencer Thresh, 48th CES barrier maintenance noncommissioned officer in charge. “They disconnect the cable from the tail hook, and we do the maintenance to ensure the system will be ready for another use.”
This close partnership between the two different organizations allowed two 48th Fighter Wing aircraft to perform safe emergency landings within an hour on Dec. 11, 2017.
“We had about seven minutes to get the barrier recertified, move the jet off the runway and open it back up,” said McCaul. “It was almost immediately after we cleared the first aircraft that another jet needed to catch a barrier too. Since we consistently work with the power production team, we were prepared for the situation. The aircraft was able to land immediately, and the mission kept going.”
The attention to detail and constant readiness of the Airmen of the 48th CES provides a sense of security to the pilots of the Liberty Wing. In these instances the pilots and weapon system officers walked away and the two $54 million F-15E Strike Eagles were quickly returned to flying status.
“Knowing that if the worst was to happen, that help would only be seconds away really reduces the stress we feel, so we can focus on getting the jet on the ground safely rather than wondering what might happen,” said a pilot from the 492nd Fighter Squadron.
The hard work of the firefighters keep the mission of the 48th Fighter Wing moving, one saved Eagle at a time.
“It’s a great service to be in,” said McCaul. “We are a service that provides for the people, and that’s what we are here for. It’s really cool to be a part of something that has a footprint everywhere. I definitely love what I do.”

Kingsley Fire Department Safeguards Community

U.S. Air Force Colonel James Mitchell, 173rd Mission Support Group commander, introduces a group of Kingsley Field Fire Fighters to Major General Michael Stencel, the Adjutant General, Oregon, at Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, Oregon February 27, 2018. These fire fighters were recognized for their recent life saving actions in the local community. Stencel spent the morning at Kingsley Field hearing updates on the current operations and strengths, as well as meeting and recognizing top performing Airmen across the Wing. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Jennifer Shirar)

KLAMATH FALLS, OR, UNITED STATES
03.06.2018
Story by Staff Sgt. Penny Snoozy
173rd Fighter Wing/Public Affairs 

The Kingsley Field Fire Department plays double duty serving the needs of the 173rd Fighter Wing and the needs of its community in Klamath Falls, Ore. Throughout 2017, Kingsley's Fire Department responded to 239 community calls as a part of their mutual aid agreement.

Although their primary purpose is to provide fire prevention and fire protection services for structural and aircraft responses, they also have the chance to save lives.

On Feb. 17, 2018, the Kingsley Fire Department responded to assist an unresponsive local citizen during a mutual aid call. Once on scene, the fighter fighters implemented their Basic Life Support capability. As trained professionals, the members executed continuous CPR, assisted ventilations, and drug administration from the first moment on the scene through the transport to the hospital.

“These folks were at the right place at the right time and willing to do the job,” said Col James Mitchell, 173rd Mission Support Group commander.

After calling the hospital for an update, they found the patient to be recovering in the Intensive Care Unit after experiencing what was identified as cardiac arrest.

“They literally saved the life of a local citizen,” said Mitchell. “If it was another shift, another day, there would be three or four other people [being recognized] because every single one of you is stepping up to take care of people,” he said while speaking to the fire fighters.
The Kingsley Field Fire Department was recently recognized for these efforts by Maj. Gen. Michael Stencel, the Adjutant General, Oregon.

“We never want an event like this to happen, but this highlights the ultimate reason that we do what we do,” added Mitchell.

Top-notch fire training facility opens

Staff Sgt. Jacob Sorby, left and Charles Arnold, 96th Civil Engineer Group firefighters, rappel from the top story of a new structural training facility during a ribbon cutting ceremony March 1 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The ribbon cutting marked the official opening of the new training facility. (U.S. Air Force photo/Ilka Cole)

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, FL, UNITED STATES
03.06.2018
Story by Ilka Cole
Eglin Air Force Base 

Firefighters from the 96th Civil Engineer Group rappelled from the top of their new structural training facility to cut the ribbon marking its official opening here March 1.

The new fire training facility, dubbed “The Assistant Fire Chief” replaces the previous burn house.

“This is truly a state of the art facility. We’re very proud to cut the ribbon today and put it into service,” said Mark Giuliano, Eglin fire chief. “Our firefighters have been eager to use it since the day it was done, but we held off. We wanted the people who helped support us to take a look at it first.”

The training facility allows for multiple diverse firefighting scenarios to provide realistic training opportunities.

Inside the building, walls can be moved to change the configuration of the rooms creating the various scenarios to meet the training needs. Firefighters can put out actual live fires and experience high fire temperatures first-hand in the first and second floor burn rooms.

“It won’t be the same scenario every time, live fire training isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. Firefighting is dangerous work,” said the fire chief.

To prepare for dangerous operations, the facility supports high-angle rescue operations, laddering, rappelling, roof penetration, helo deployment training simulations, and floor collapse.

The $680,000 training facility is also equipped with 5,000 pound rappelling anchors and the only four-story fire training elevator shaft in Northwest Florida.

“One of the primary needs identified was the lack of an elevator shaft,” said Joseph Suddarth, 96th Civil Engineer Group, assistant fire chief for training. “The only time we could train in an elevator shaft is when an elevator was out of service. That became one of our primary add-ins.”

Suddarth designed the state-of-the-art facility and ensured every National Fire Protection Agency live fire requirement was met.

The assistant fire chief for training considered what firefighting might look like in 25 years and took into account the training needs and current burn houses in the local firefighting communities to create the new building.

Suddarth visited community partners from Pensacola to Tallahassee to learn about burn house designs to determine training needs and incorporate those features.

“We’re going to welcome our local partners outside the gate to train here like we do with our aircraft fire training,” said Giuliano. “They’ve already expressed an interest in coming out to use the new facility and we’re glad we can do that for them.”

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.”