Thank-you Air National Guard and Reserve C-130 MAFFS

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In a year that may have been the worse year ever for wildfires, see this editorial from the MinnPost, four wings of C-130 equipped with Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems (MAFFS) were deployed to help aerial wildland firefighting efforts in the U.S. Each wing has a maximum of two C-130s. The four wings are:

North Carolina Air National Guard 145th Airlift Wing
California Air National Guard, 146th Airlift Wing
302nd Airlift Wing, U.S. Air Force Reserve Command
Wyoming Air National Guard, 153rd Airlift Wing

Tragically, MAFFS 7 of the NC Air National Guard, 145th Airlift Wing went down in early July killing 4 of 6 crew members. According to a Aug 28th Press Release from the U.S. Air Force, MAFFS had dropped 2 million gallons of retardant during the 2012 fire season on Aug. 24, and this was the first year since 2008 that all four MAFFS wings have been activated.

By Sept. 17, per a later U.S. Air Force press release, the U.S. Forest Service had deactivated all C-130 MAFFS. Each of the U.S. Air Force press releases describe the MAFFS program, some of you may want to spend some time reading both articles. In addition, the US Forest Service maintains a webpage on the MAFFS program.

Thank-you to all the pilots, crew, ground support staff, etc. of the four MAFFS wings for all that you did to help fight wildfires this year. 

Those who died when MAFFS 7 went in are flying in favorable tail winds. You will not be forgotten. Prayers continue for your family, friends, colleagues, and all who love you. And prayers continue for the two survivors and their families.