PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Hello 146th Airlift Wing and Association Members. Get ready for some seriously exciting updates, the base has been on FIRE this summer with MAFFS in full operation keeping personnel very busy.
First up, the big news! We’ve just crushed a 50-day MAFFS activation at our brand-new Channel Islands Tanker Base facility. For the first time since 2022, we unleashed the power of our new $600K MAFFS reload pits, and the results? Absolutely EPIC! The Wing pulled off 315 fire-fighting drops, laid down 7.8 million pounds of retardant, and logged 399 flight hours. What an achievement for the men and women of the wing. Our friends at CalFire, the Forest Service, and aircrews from across Colorado, Wyoming, and Nevada can’t stop applauding our efforts. The Wing is now the go-to SoCal firefighting squad!
Meanwhile, back in June, our Operations, Maintenance, and Contingency Response crews headed to the Indo-Pacific for Exercise Valiant Shield 24—because why not aim high, and be the best. They got to put our training to the test, with near-peer threats (no pressure!) and got certified for their next deployment cycle, all while soaking up the sights in Japan. While we don’t have a specific deployment this round, our Aeromedical Evac squadron is gearing up to deploy to EUCOM and CENTCOM this fall. Big things ahead for AES.
In August, we threw a MASSIVE exciting party! We celebrated our 100-year anniversary with a wing-wide bash that was filled with family fun, food, and games and a whole lot of squadron pride. The 115th Airlift Squadron (yep, the parent unit of the 146th AW) is one of the oldest Air National Guard units around, founded all the way back in 1924. And we celebrated in style, with a great turnout from both current and past members. It was nice to see many past members show for this outstanding event. Your Wing association was there with a full set of past to present photographs of our history. One hundred years young, and still going strong! With the pride exuding from all.
But that’s not all—our 195th Weather Flight was just named Outstanding Unit of the Year across the entire National Guard for their support of Army Weather Services (AWS). And two of our superstars, SrA Jessica Zavala and TSgt Robert Ybarra, snagged awards for Outstanding AWS Airman and NCO of the Year. Talk about squad goals! Congratulations to all, and the outstanding winners, And the highlights keep coming! Congresswoman Julia Brownley stopped by in August, and was totally impressed with the new simulator facility, MAFFS pits, and mission-configured C-130Js. Talks about everything from C-130J modernization to infrastructure needs. Colonel Dougherty Is scheduled to go to D.C. later this month to keep pushing for more assistance that will produce more advancement for the 146th.
Looking at the new construction at the Wing, the simulator facility is this close to being finished (99% there!), and while the actual simulator won’t arrive until 2027, there are some cool plans in the works to make sure the facility stays active. Great news is the base just landed a $33M redesign for the primary maintenance hangar—the biggest award in the state this year! As we think back to our days at the 146th and its construction we remember everything worked and was always ready to go. Well, just as we got older so has the base. Action is in play to get things working correctly and will keep civil engineering busy. Time has a way with all.
We said a big farewell to Col. Matthew Glynn, who’s flying off into retirement (literally) to return to his civilian airline career. But never fear, because Col. Shawna Pavey is stepping in as our new Deputy Commander in October, and she’s bringing a ton of experience and energy to the team. We’re excited to see what she’ll do!
Lastly, we would like to congratulate the 15, recipients of the 2024 Steve Friedricks Scholarship fund. They were awarded their scholarship award during a ceremony in the 146th wing auditorium along with senior enlisted promotions, This program only exists due to the generous donations from individuals both past and present.
Our next recent outing activity will be at the Black Bear Diner at 2401 East Harbor Blvd, Ventura Calif. 93001 on Oct. 29th at 11:30am. Individual bills will be given, please inform the waitress. More information will be provided in the web blast.
So, that’s the scoop! It’s been a wild summer for the 146th, and there not slowing down anytime soon. Thanks for all your hard work, dedication, and hustle. Let’s keep making history together!
I ask that all current members encourage those that have not participated in the Association to join. This Association cannot continue the high caliber of care and assistance without all our support. As a reminder we look forward to your involvement in the functions that we have planned this year. As a service organization, and a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization, we will always keep our members first and our mission to support the Wing and its members a top priority. Please just drop us a quick note with your suggestions to: [email protected]. and/or [email protected].
Your Association looks forward to seeing you at one of our functions this year.
Richard Onsgard
President – 146th Wing Association
http://www.146thwingassociation.org
First up, the big news! We’ve just crushed a 50-day MAFFS activation at our brand-new Channel Islands Tanker Base facility. For the first time since 2022, we unleashed the power of our new $600K MAFFS reload pits, and the results? Absolutely EPIC! The Wing pulled off 315 fire-fighting drops, laid down 7.8 million pounds of retardant, and logged 399 flight hours. What an achievement for the men and women of the wing. Our friends at CalFire, the Forest Service, and aircrews from across Colorado, Wyoming, and Nevada can’t stop applauding our efforts. The Wing is now the go-to SoCal firefighting squad!
Meanwhile, back in June, our Operations, Maintenance, and Contingency Response crews headed to the Indo-Pacific for Exercise Valiant Shield 24—because why not aim high, and be the best. They got to put our training to the test, with near-peer threats (no pressure!) and got certified for their next deployment cycle, all while soaking up the sights in Japan. While we don’t have a specific deployment this round, our Aeromedical Evac squadron is gearing up to deploy to EUCOM and CENTCOM this fall. Big things ahead for AES.
In August, we threw a MASSIVE exciting party! We celebrated our 100-year anniversary with a wing-wide bash that was filled with family fun, food, and games and a whole lot of squadron pride. The 115th Airlift Squadron (yep, the parent unit of the 146th AW) is one of the oldest Air National Guard units around, founded all the way back in 1924. And we celebrated in style, with a great turnout from both current and past members. It was nice to see many past members show for this outstanding event. Your Wing association was there with a full set of past to present photographs of our history. One hundred years young, and still going strong! With the pride exuding from all.
But that’s not all—our 195th Weather Flight was just named Outstanding Unit of the Year across the entire National Guard for their support of Army Weather Services (AWS). And two of our superstars, SrA Jessica Zavala and TSgt Robert Ybarra, snagged awards for Outstanding AWS Airman and NCO of the Year. Talk about squad goals! Congratulations to all, and the outstanding winners, And the highlights keep coming! Congresswoman Julia Brownley stopped by in August, and was totally impressed with the new simulator facility, MAFFS pits, and mission-configured C-130Js. Talks about everything from C-130J modernization to infrastructure needs. Colonel Dougherty Is scheduled to go to D.C. later this month to keep pushing for more assistance that will produce more advancement for the 146th.
Looking at the new construction at the Wing, the simulator facility is this close to being finished (99% there!), and while the actual simulator won’t arrive until 2027, there are some cool plans in the works to make sure the facility stays active. Great news is the base just landed a $33M redesign for the primary maintenance hangar—the biggest award in the state this year! As we think back to our days at the 146th and its construction we remember everything worked and was always ready to go. Well, just as we got older so has the base. Action is in play to get things working correctly and will keep civil engineering busy. Time has a way with all.
We said a big farewell to Col. Matthew Glynn, who’s flying off into retirement (literally) to return to his civilian airline career. But never fear, because Col. Shawna Pavey is stepping in as our new Deputy Commander in October, and she’s bringing a ton of experience and energy to the team. We’re excited to see what she’ll do!
Lastly, we would like to congratulate the 15, recipients of the 2024 Steve Friedricks Scholarship fund. They were awarded their scholarship award during a ceremony in the 146th wing auditorium along with senior enlisted promotions, This program only exists due to the generous donations from individuals both past and present.
Our next recent outing activity will be at the Black Bear Diner at 2401 East Harbor Blvd, Ventura Calif. 93001 on Oct. 29th at 11:30am. Individual bills will be given, please inform the waitress. More information will be provided in the web blast.
So, that’s the scoop! It’s been a wild summer for the 146th, and there not slowing down anytime soon. Thanks for all your hard work, dedication, and hustle. Let’s keep making history together!
I ask that all current members encourage those that have not participated in the Association to join. This Association cannot continue the high caliber of care and assistance without all our support. As a reminder we look forward to your involvement in the functions that we have planned this year. As a service organization, and a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization, we will always keep our members first and our mission to support the Wing and its members a top priority. Please just drop us a quick note with your suggestions to: [email protected]. and/or [email protected].
Your Association looks forward to seeing you at one of our functions this year.
Richard Onsgard
President – 146th Wing Association
http://www.146thwingassociation.org
I write this having just completed a 50-day MAFFs activation hosted at our newly-established Channel Islands Tanker base. Between 10 July and 31 August 2024, in addition to our normal complement of 8 C-130Js, the 146th AW hosted upwards of 6 activated MAFFS tails on our guard ramp utilizing our newly constructed fixed MAFFS reload pits. This was the first time since they were constructed in 2022 that we were able to employ the $600K+ project for operational use. Due to the combined efforts of our Mission Support, Operations and Maintenance Groups, it was nothing short of a resounding success - lauded by the Forest Service, CalFire, the AEG, and aircrews from Colorado, Wyoming and Nevada. It brought a decisive strategic DOMOPS advantage as a new SoCal tanker base reload option for both CalFire and the USFS utilizing MAFFS aircraft. In summary, 315 MAFFS drops, 7.8 million lbs of retardant and 399 flight hours were executed from the CIANGS tanker base during this activation. We can expect it to be employed many times with future MAFFS activation in Southern California and so far, it appears to be a fantastic return on investment for the taxpayers.
During the month of June, our Operations, Maintenance and Contingency Response units deployed to INDOPACOM to take place in Exercise Valiant Shield 24, which employed many of the concepts we have been training towards relevant to near-peer threats and great power competition. Additionally, aircrews were able to certify their readiness for their availability of the 2nd iteration of the AFFORGEN deployment cycle while in Japan, utilizing the convenience of the Pacific theater location to do so. Nothing like training where you’re expected to fight! Although we are not scheduled to deploy to a specific location this cycle, we stand ready to engage worldwide when needed. However, our Aeromedical Evacuation squadron IS deploying to both EUCOM and CENTCOM at the end of the summer and will be executing many of the principles and training constructs they have absorbed over the past 2 years. Our 195th Weather Flight, led by LtCol Kevin Quinn and CMSgt Jen Green, was just named Outstanding Unit of the Year across the National Guard for their efforts in support of Army Weather Services (AWS). In addition, we had individual accolades for SrA Jessica Zavala and TSgt Robert Ybarra, who won outstanding AWS Airman and NCO of the year, respectively.
Over August UTA, we celebrated our Wing’s 100-year anniversary and combined it with a wing-wide resiliency day and a military family celebration day. The 115th Airlift Squadron (of which the 146th AW is the parent unit) is one of the original Air National Guard squadrons in the country and the oldest in the California Air National Guard. It was formed in 1924 at Clover Field, which is the current location of Santa Monica Airport. Over the past century the 115th/146th has participated in many of our nation’s conflicts and domestic contingencies, and we had a great turnout for the centennial, especially from many of our former members who were stationed with the 146th at Van Nuys.
I just concluded an official CODEL visit with our representative, Congresswoman Julia Brownley, which was very productive. In addition to lauding the accomplishments of the Airmen of the Hollywood Guard, I also discussed 1) C-130J simulator delays/procurement for the C-130J enterprise, 2) infrastructure challenges across the wing, 3) C-130J recapitalization/modernization, 4) MAFFS program of Record reinvigoration and 5) some concerns with how the newly released 2024 Enlisted Grade Report negatively affects the Air National Guard writ large. We showed her our new simulator facility, the MAFFS pits and a MAFFS configured C-130J aircraft all while discussing the details of our special mission set. Her positive reception was encouraging and I am scheduled to travel to the DC area in the latter part of September, where I can hopefully continue some of these conversations at the legislative level.
Construction updates: The simulator facility is at 99% completion and should be
ready in the next month or two. Although we will not be receiving the simulator anytime soon (delivery in March 2027, FOC June 2028), we do have plans for the facility to ensure we don’t lose out on the warranty by leaving it unoccupied. Our primary maintenance hangar was just awarded a $33M redesign project (largest award in the state this year), and while it is being worked on, we have plans for our maintenance airmen to utilize the office spaces in the newly constructed simulator facility. Although we were not able to award the fire detection/suppression project this fiscal year due to re-programming requirements, we are confident it will receive an award in the first quarter of FY25. We have had numerous water outages and plumbing issues across the installation (to include 2-3 inches of standing water in the headquarters section, and a water line break during our MAFFS activation – potentially limiting our operational capability). Thankfully, our base Civil Engineering team, led by Major Tim Chow, has been exemplary in their response and mitigation efforts. It does provide concrete examples of the need to overhaul our base infrastructure relevant to resiliency and seek alternate water distribution sources to support redundancies in times of contingencies.
Also in August, we said farewell to our Wing Deputy Commander, Col Matthew Glynn, who retired and returned to his civilian airline career. We are looking forward to receiving his replacement in the early part of October; Col Shawna Pavey will be a great addition to our wing, and brings a plethora of knowledge, experience, and charisma to the position. Overall, the 146th continues to remain operationally relevant in support of both the federal and state missions sets with the best airmen in the Guard!
During the month of June, our Operations, Maintenance and Contingency Response units deployed to INDOPACOM to take place in Exercise Valiant Shield 24, which employed many of the concepts we have been training towards relevant to near-peer threats and great power competition. Additionally, aircrews were able to certify their readiness for their availability of the 2nd iteration of the AFFORGEN deployment cycle while in Japan, utilizing the convenience of the Pacific theater location to do so. Nothing like training where you’re expected to fight! Although we are not scheduled to deploy to a specific location this cycle, we stand ready to engage worldwide when needed. However, our Aeromedical Evacuation squadron IS deploying to both EUCOM and CENTCOM at the end of the summer and will be executing many of the principles and training constructs they have absorbed over the past 2 years. Our 195th Weather Flight, led by LtCol Kevin Quinn and CMSgt Jen Green, was just named Outstanding Unit of the Year across the National Guard for their efforts in support of Army Weather Services (AWS). In addition, we had individual accolades for SrA Jessica Zavala and TSgt Robert Ybarra, who won outstanding AWS Airman and NCO of the year, respectively.
Over August UTA, we celebrated our Wing’s 100-year anniversary and combined it with a wing-wide resiliency day and a military family celebration day. The 115th Airlift Squadron (of which the 146th AW is the parent unit) is one of the original Air National Guard squadrons in the country and the oldest in the California Air National Guard. It was formed in 1924 at Clover Field, which is the current location of Santa Monica Airport. Over the past century the 115th/146th has participated in many of our nation’s conflicts and domestic contingencies, and we had a great turnout for the centennial, especially from many of our former members who were stationed with the 146th at Van Nuys.
I just concluded an official CODEL visit with our representative, Congresswoman Julia Brownley, which was very productive. In addition to lauding the accomplishments of the Airmen of the Hollywood Guard, I also discussed 1) C-130J simulator delays/procurement for the C-130J enterprise, 2) infrastructure challenges across the wing, 3) C-130J recapitalization/modernization, 4) MAFFS program of Record reinvigoration and 5) some concerns with how the newly released 2024 Enlisted Grade Report negatively affects the Air National Guard writ large. We showed her our new simulator facility, the MAFFS pits and a MAFFS configured C-130J aircraft all while discussing the details of our special mission set. Her positive reception was encouraging and I am scheduled to travel to the DC area in the latter part of September, where I can hopefully continue some of these conversations at the legislative level.
Construction updates: The simulator facility is at 99% completion and should be
ready in the next month or two. Although we will not be receiving the simulator anytime soon (delivery in March 2027, FOC June 2028), we do have plans for the facility to ensure we don’t lose out on the warranty by leaving it unoccupied. Our primary maintenance hangar was just awarded a $33M redesign project (largest award in the state this year), and while it is being worked on, we have plans for our maintenance airmen to utilize the office spaces in the newly constructed simulator facility. Although we were not able to award the fire detection/suppression project this fiscal year due to re-programming requirements, we are confident it will receive an award in the first quarter of FY25. We have had numerous water outages and plumbing issues across the installation (to include 2-3 inches of standing water in the headquarters section, and a water line break during our MAFFS activation – potentially limiting our operational capability). Thankfully, our base Civil Engineering team, led by Major Tim Chow, has been exemplary in their response and mitigation efforts. It does provide concrete examples of the need to overhaul our base infrastructure relevant to resiliency and seek alternate water distribution sources to support redundancies in times of contingencies.
Also in August, we said farewell to our Wing Deputy Commander, Col Matthew Glynn, who retired and returned to his civilian airline career. We are looking forward to receiving his replacement in the early part of October; Col Shawna Pavey will be a great addition to our wing, and brings a plethora of knowledge, experience, and charisma to the position. Overall, the 146th continues to remain operationally relevant in support of both the federal and state missions sets with the best airmen in the Guard!
Hollywood Guard and U.S. Forest Service host critical aerial firefighting Training
CHANNEL ISLANDS AIR NATIONAL GUARD STATION, Calif. -- CHANNEL ISLANDS AIR NATIONAL GUARD STATION, Calif. – The U.S. Forest Service held its annual certification and training event for the aerial firefighting program known as MAFFS (Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System) with two of the four assigned Department of Defense aircrews from the Air Force Reserve’s 302nd Airlift Wing, Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the California Air National Guard’s 146th Airlift Wing nicknamed the “Hollywood Guard.” Together with wildland fire fighting agencies such as CAL FIRE, and the Bureau of Land Management, the multi-agency MAFFS program kicked off their first iteration of training this week at the Channel Islands Air National Guard Station.
During the same year as its 100-year centennial celebration and one year after the 50-year anniversary of the MAFFS program, the 146th Airlift Wing is hosting MAFFS training for the second year in a row.
MAFFS, a unique partnership between the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Defense, shares a combination of resources supporting aerial firefighting operations that include equipment, personnel and aircraft that provide a critical “surge” capability to the U.S. Forest Service to slow or stop the spread of wildland fires when all commercial airtankers within the national airtanker fleet are fully committed or not readily available.
The U.S. Forest Service provides this training event annually, which requires any aircrew supporting this mission to gain their certification before they can support any wildland fire operations as a part of their annual training requirements. Afterwards, MAFFS aircrew will continue to supplement their experience throughout the year once they start supporting MAFFS missions after certification training. Depending on the cadence of what often is a busy fire season, MAFFS personnel must ensure they are making the most out of every opportunity for training.
While the number of wildfires in the U.S. is measured as an average amount for last year, it did hold the record for the fewest acreage burned in the past 25 years.
During this time, MAFFS air tankers were first used on August 3, 2023, and released on September 6, 2023. During that 35-day activation, MAFFS aircrew flew 69 missions providing 73 retardant drops which totaled 185,263 gallons.
While nobody can predict when the next major fire incident will come, the one constant force that is ready to meet the challenges of a busy fire season are the people supporting MAFFS.
Col. DeAnna Franks, the operations group commander for the 302nd Airlift Wing and this year’s Air Expeditionary Group Commander for all Department of Defense assets for the MAFFS mission, says that the annual training events are a pivotal moment within the pre-fire season to ensure readiness across the MAFFS enterprise.
“MAFFS is a robust partnership with many agencies and support functions that work intricately together to accomplish large-scale aerial firefighting missions successfully. This is why MAFFS training is so important because it affords us the opportunity to capitalize on our collaboration efforts with all the agencies participating. Completing our annual training each year is paramount as it allows our aircrews to get those critical training hours we need before we respond to a real fire,” said Franks.
Franks says that the intricate partnership’s success is built on a valued cooperation over the past 50 years.
“Modular, the first word of the MAFFS acronym, might perhaps be the best word to corroborate just how flexible and efficient our working partnerships have developed over the last 50 years. Last year in December, the MAFFS community collectively celebrated it’s 50-year semi-centennial anniversary with all our partners working within the U.S. Forest Service, CAL FIRE, the Bureau of Land Management, as well as many other valued firefighting assets across the county who support the MAFFS mission. It was a great opportunity to reflect on just how impactful this mission is and just how special all the people involved with the MAFFS program are,” said Franks.
Franks added, “For me, when I think about the success of this government program that has been around for as long as it has, it’s clear to me why the MAFFS mission has been so successful. The people of MAFFS are a testament to the program because of all the great work they do, and it’s an absolute honor to work alongside everyone who supports the mission.”
Kim Christensen, deputy assistant director operations for the U.S. Forest Service and one of the driving forces behind the MAFFS training at Channel Islands, has been a part of the MAFFS mission since 2012, says she still loves coming to work with the people involved with the MAFFS mission after all these years.
“The teamwork and partnerships are really what make the program such a success. In addition to the airlift wings, a number of other federal and state agencies and local departments are also involved. The members of the airlift wings that participate in the MAFFS program are consummate professionals. They take the annual training very seriously and are always prepared to assist us with wildfire suppression, whenever asked,” said Christensen.
Utilizing the same training schedule as the year prior, both training events will take place on two separate weeks to help mitigate the busy schedules for the 3 Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve components involved. Two additional Air National Guard units assigned to the MAFFS mission from the Nevada’s 152nd Airlift Wing, and the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing, will also travel to Channel Islands Air National Guard Station to complete their training and certification in early May.
For more information and stories regarding the MAFFS mission, please visit the MAFFS AEG page at https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/MAFFSAEG.
During the same year as its 100-year centennial celebration and one year after the 50-year anniversary of the MAFFS program, the 146th Airlift Wing is hosting MAFFS training for the second year in a row.
MAFFS, a unique partnership between the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Defense, shares a combination of resources supporting aerial firefighting operations that include equipment, personnel and aircraft that provide a critical “surge” capability to the U.S. Forest Service to slow or stop the spread of wildland fires when all commercial airtankers within the national airtanker fleet are fully committed or not readily available.
The U.S. Forest Service provides this training event annually, which requires any aircrew supporting this mission to gain their certification before they can support any wildland fire operations as a part of their annual training requirements. Afterwards, MAFFS aircrew will continue to supplement their experience throughout the year once they start supporting MAFFS missions after certification training. Depending on the cadence of what often is a busy fire season, MAFFS personnel must ensure they are making the most out of every opportunity for training.
While the number of wildfires in the U.S. is measured as an average amount for last year, it did hold the record for the fewest acreage burned in the past 25 years.
During this time, MAFFS air tankers were first used on August 3, 2023, and released on September 6, 2023. During that 35-day activation, MAFFS aircrew flew 69 missions providing 73 retardant drops which totaled 185,263 gallons.
While nobody can predict when the next major fire incident will come, the one constant force that is ready to meet the challenges of a busy fire season are the people supporting MAFFS.
Col. DeAnna Franks, the operations group commander for the 302nd Airlift Wing and this year’s Air Expeditionary Group Commander for all Department of Defense assets for the MAFFS mission, says that the annual training events are a pivotal moment within the pre-fire season to ensure readiness across the MAFFS enterprise.
“MAFFS is a robust partnership with many agencies and support functions that work intricately together to accomplish large-scale aerial firefighting missions successfully. This is why MAFFS training is so important because it affords us the opportunity to capitalize on our collaboration efforts with all the agencies participating. Completing our annual training each year is paramount as it allows our aircrews to get those critical training hours we need before we respond to a real fire,” said Franks.
Franks says that the intricate partnership’s success is built on a valued cooperation over the past 50 years.
“Modular, the first word of the MAFFS acronym, might perhaps be the best word to corroborate just how flexible and efficient our working partnerships have developed over the last 50 years. Last year in December, the MAFFS community collectively celebrated it’s 50-year semi-centennial anniversary with all our partners working within the U.S. Forest Service, CAL FIRE, the Bureau of Land Management, as well as many other valued firefighting assets across the county who support the MAFFS mission. It was a great opportunity to reflect on just how impactful this mission is and just how special all the people involved with the MAFFS program are,” said Franks.
Franks added, “For me, when I think about the success of this government program that has been around for as long as it has, it’s clear to me why the MAFFS mission has been so successful. The people of MAFFS are a testament to the program because of all the great work they do, and it’s an absolute honor to work alongside everyone who supports the mission.”
Kim Christensen, deputy assistant director operations for the U.S. Forest Service and one of the driving forces behind the MAFFS training at Channel Islands, has been a part of the MAFFS mission since 2012, says she still loves coming to work with the people involved with the MAFFS mission after all these years.
“The teamwork and partnerships are really what make the program such a success. In addition to the airlift wings, a number of other federal and state agencies and local departments are also involved. The members of the airlift wings that participate in the MAFFS program are consummate professionals. They take the annual training very seriously and are always prepared to assist us with wildfire suppression, whenever asked,” said Christensen.
Utilizing the same training schedule as the year prior, both training events will take place on two separate weeks to help mitigate the busy schedules for the 3 Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve components involved. Two additional Air National Guard units assigned to the MAFFS mission from the Nevada’s 152nd Airlift Wing, and the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing, will also travel to Channel Islands Air National Guard Station to complete their training and certification in early May.
For more information and stories regarding the MAFFS mission, please visit the MAFFS AEG page at https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/MAFFSAEG.