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910th unit battles Gulf slicks
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VIENNA
Air Force Reserve Maj. Philip Townsend said he began to realize the enormous scope of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico when some of the oil slicks they were spraying were miles long and miles wide.
Townsend, a C-130 pilot with the Aerial Spray Squadron of the Air Force Reserve’s 910th Airlift Wing at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station, was one of about 60 squadron personnel who returned home Thursday and Friday after more than a month assisting civilian efforts in fighting the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
It was the 910th Aerial Squadron’s first real oil-spill mission. The squadron is the only full-time, fixed-wing aerial-spray unit in the Department of Defense.
Three C-130 Hercules transport and cargo aircraft, two outfitted for aerial-spray missions, were dispatched to the Gulf on April 29 and began spray missions May 1, said Maj. Brent Davis, 910th public-affairs officer.
The 910th flight crews faced many days flying the maximum 12 hours, much of the time spent flying just 100 feet over the water to ensure maximum effect of the oil-dispersing chemical, said Townsend, of Warren, a former Champion schools chemistry teacher.
For perspective, 100 feet altitude is about one-third the length of a football field.
Townsend said 910th personnel and planes flew more than 90 spray sorties and logged some 150 hours of flight time.
For the ground crews, who maintain the planes and reload the chemicals, the days were even longer, said Lt. Col. John Kochansky, C-130 navigator.
High winds and heavy rain or too-calm conditions hampered operations, Kochansky said. He said ideal weather for spraying is a light breeze that kicks up the water to help disperse the chemical. When the water is too calm, the chemical does not disperse as efficiently, he said.
Kochansky, whose job basically was to make sure the plane didn’t hit the water, said there are major benefits to working with various agencies in a real situation.
“You learn about their rules and capabilities and build camaraderie for the next time,” he said.
Civilian spotters in smaller planes guided the C-130s to the oil slicks and kept them on target for spraying, Townsend added. “When you are that close to the water, you really can’t determine where the oil is.”
He said he did not have an opportunity to see the effect of the spill on wildlife or the area in general, but did note that when the chemical was sprayed on the oil slicks, the color changed to a dirty brown, which showed the chemical was working.
The Air Force Reserve aircraft and personnel were released from the aerial-spray, oil-dispersion mission at Stennis International Airport, Miss., when civilian C-130s arrived to take over spray operations, Davis said.
To monitor the effectiveness of their aerial-spray operations, 910th airmen worked closely with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Coast Guard.
“We’re very proud to have supported this cleanup effort. Our airmen have been training for this type of response, and we are pleased to have been able to utilize their skills and capabilities to help make a difference,” said Col. Fritz Linsenmeyer, 910th Airlift Wing commander.