Two firefighting C-130s from the Wyoming Air National Guard that had been battling wildfires in the western United States returned home to Cheyenne after a decline in fire activity, announced US Northern Command on Sept. 4. These C-130s, equipped with the Modular Airborne Firefighting System, had been operating from Boise, Idaho, against the fires. However, officials overseeing the firefighting efforts released them from service on Sept. 2, according to NORTHCOM’s release. Two other MAFFS-carrying C-130s assigned to Air Force Reserve Command’s 302nd Airlift Wing at Colorado Springs, Colo., continue to operate out of Boise against the fires. Additionally, one California Air Guard MAFFS C-130 and one similarly equipped North Carolina ANG C-130 are still battling the blazes from McClellan Air Tanker Base in Sacramento, Calif. Since commencing operations on June 25, the Air Force’s small MAFFS force has dropped approximately 2.3 million gallons of fire retardant so far this year, second only to the five million gallons dispensed in 1994, according to officials managing the MAFFS activities. (See also Firefighting C-130s Reach Hefty Drop Milestone.)
Happy Birthday US Air Force: 78 Today
Sept. 18, 2025
Seventy-eight years ago today, on Sept. 18, 1947, Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Vinson swore in Stuart Symington as the first ever Secretary of the Air Force, and the Air Force officially became the first new military service since the Revolutionary War.
