Coast Guard provides maintenance support to 302nd AEG

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Luke Johnson
  • 302nd Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AFPN) --  Coast Guardsmen from Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento opened their hangar doors for maintainers from the 302nd Air Expeditionary Group, making it easier for them to work on the modular airborne fire fighting system-equipped C-130 Hercules aircraft that are assisting with fighting wildfires in California.

Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento is located at McClellan Airfield, Calif., just outside the flightline where the MAFFS C-130s operate, and the station flies the HC-130s performing search and rescue, law enforcement and logistics missions.

The Coast Guard hangar is just the right size for the MAFFS-equipped C-130s, and maintainers from the 302nd AEG said they appreciate the hangar space that the Coast Guard has provided them.

The Coast Guard has provided us with everything that we need; they have been outstanding," said Staff Sgt. Morris Reece with the 145th Airlift Wing, North Carolina Air National Guard. "They have made our work a whole lot easier with their support. Instead of working out in the sun, we have a cooler work area and plenty of tools and support from the guys here. It makes our jobs a whole lot easier."

In addition to providing hangar space for the C-130s, Coast Guardsmen have also provided some of their shop spaces and some consumable parts for the maintainers to use on the C-130s, said Chief Warrant Officer Keith Chapman, the maintenance officer for Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento.

The chief warrant officer said that the Airmen from the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve have similar attributes as the Coast Guardsmen at Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento.

"They seem a lot like us, just [getting] down to business," Chief Warrant Officer Chapman said. "They see a problem, they fix it.

"It feels great to be helping out [the 302nd AEG maintainers]. It's like a lot of things the Coast Guard does. Usually there is a problem, and we go out there and do our best to help fix it."

The 302nd AEG aircraft units include three Air National Guard units -- the 145th Airlift Wing from Charlotte, N.C.; the 146th Airlift Wing from Channel Islands ANGS; and the 153rd Airlift Wing from Cheyenne, Wyo. -- and one Air Force Reserve unit -- the 302nd Airlift Wing from Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. 

The 302nd AEG provides unique capabilities and is part of a unified military support effort of U.S. Northern Command to provide assistance to the U.S. Forest Service, the California Department of Forestry and Protection and the National Interagency Fire Center.

USNORTHCOM continues to closely monitor the California wildfires to anticipate additional requests for Department of Defense assistance to local, federal and state civil authorities and will launch as many missions as needed by officials battling the wildfires. 

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