In a
ddition to the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command Modular Airborne Firefighting System-equipped aircraft sent to help battle California wildfires, the Air Force is providing airlift, aircraft command and control, and medical evacuation assistance. The 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus AFB, Okla., dispatched a C-17 to San Antonio to pick up Army North personnel and Army equipment for transport to California. Air Forces North at Tyndall AFB, Fla., sent an eight-person air component coordination element to Air Force operations. News 14 in North Carolina reports that the Air Force has sent airmen from the 43rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Pope AFB, N.C., to set up a hospital and help medevac patients elsewhere, if necessary.
An F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the Texas Air National Guard’s 149th Fighter Wing crashed during a training mission in Michigan on Sept. 17. The fighter's sole pilot ejected and is in stable condition at a local hospital.
