By Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Jennifer Shirar, 173rd
Fighter Wing
WARRENTON, Ore. -- Fifty-seven airmen from the Oregon Air
National Guard’s 173rd Fighter Wing based at Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls,
Oregon, spent two weeks here learning to assist wildland firefighters.
This was the first time National Guardsmen were trained
before being tasked to support firefighting efforts in Oregon.
“In the past, we did not train beforehand, and this caused
about a two-week delay in having Oregon National Guard resources ready to
deploy,” says Air Force Chief Master Sgt. James Dean, chief of the 173rd
Mission Support Group . “Now we are trained and ready to deploy!”
Air Force Col. Jeff Smith, commander of the 173rd Fighter
Wing adds, “We should cut the response time [by] more than 50 percent, enabling
our manpower surge to augment the [Oregon Department of Forestry] and other
partners sooner, hopefully minimizing impacts of fire damage.”
Last year, nearly 100 airmen from Kingsley Field were part
of the more than 600 Oregon National Guard soldiers and airmen called to
support firefighting efforts across the state. It is anticipated that there may
be a similar call this year due to extremely dry conditions across Oregon.
“As one of the Oregon National Guard's state missions -- to
protect our state from natural disasters -- wildland firefighting has become
one of the biggest issues for many of the north western states,” Dean said. “We
have some of the best and brightest on our team, and they come from all ranks,
ethnicities and backgrounds; the ability to work together as one team in such a
short amount of time in such a hazardous and dangerous environment is truly
amazing to see and to be part of.”
Balancing Multiple Responsibilities
National Guard units are tasked with supporting both the
state and federal governments. Smith said this can be a tricky balancing act at
times.
“We are sworn to support the nation and the state in times
of need, and sometimes we have to do both,” he said.
He points out that last year the 173rd Fighter Wing
accomplished just this, supporting all three of its major mission sets
simultaneously -- deploying in support of global operations, training F-15C
Eagle pilots and fighting wildfires in Oregon.
Smith says this was accomplished by being able to call up
Drill Status Guardsmen to support these missions. “Without them, we could not
tackle so many tasks at once.”
Smith notes that this is not only the wing’s mission, it is
personal. “We live here; we're raising our kids here. Because we're rooted in
the community, we're also vested in it. By training to support wildfire
fighting efforts, we prepare to defend and preserve the beautiful landscape
we're so lucky to have in Oregon.”
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