Youngstown Airmen take part in oil spill cleanup

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YOUNGSTOWN AIR RESERVE STATION, Ohio (AFNS) --  Two C-130 Hercules aircraft and crews from here are spraying oil-dispersing agents as part of an effort to clean up the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

More than 40 reservists from the Air Force Reserve Command's 910th Airlift Wing are operating out of Stennis International Airport, Miss. They began operations at Stennis on May 1.

In their first 18 sorties over the water, they delivered more than 29,000 gallons of dispersant covering an area of 6,000 acres.

This is the first time in the history of the Department of Defense's large-area, fixed-wing aerial spray program that the oil dispersing capability has been used in an actual emergency.

The objective of their efforts is to neutralize the spill, which is threatening animal life and the ecosystem along the Gulf coast.

The Youngstown reservists are operating in a joint-service effort under the direction of President Barack Obama and a tasking by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

High winds and turbulent waters initially hampered the operations, according to members of the aerial spray operations team. They expect to remain involved in the effort for as long as they are needed, based on mission requirements.

The 910th AW aerial spray oil dispersing mission is part of a larger government response to this incident that also involves representatives from the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard.

For more than a decade, 910th AW Airmen have participated in oil spill cleanup exercises in the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. That training sharpened the skills of the Air Force reservists to respond to these kinds of situations.

In addition to dispersing oil slicks, the aerial spray capability is designed for larvicide and insect eradication as well as providing vegetation control at bombing ranges.

(Courtesy of the Air Force Reserve Command News Service)