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Airmen from California Air National Guard's 146th Airlift Wing prepare a C-130J Hercules for firefighting operations at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, April 18, 2011. The C-130 is equipped with the Modular Airborne Firefighting System(MAFFS) which is capable of dispensing 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in under 5 seconds. The wildfires have spread across various parts of Texas and have burned more than 1,000 square miles of land.

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A lead plane from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service guides a C-130, from the 302nd Airlift Wing, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., toward a wildfire west of Austin, Texas, April 17, 2011. U.S. Northern Command has deployed six C-130 aircraft equipped with the U.S.D.A. Forest Service’s Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System to support the fight against ongoing wildfires in the area.

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u A wildfire burns land near Austin, Texas, April 17, 2011. U.S. Northern Command has deployed six C-130 aircraft fitted with the U.S.D.A. Forest Service’s Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems to support the fight against ongoing wildfires.

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A C-130 from the 302nd Airlift Wing, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., equipped with a U.S.D.A. Forest Service Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System flies toward a wildfire west of Austin, Texas, April 17, 2011. Six MAFFS C-130s, deployed by US Northern Command to Texas, have conducted several aerial firefighting missions over the Texas fires in the past two days.

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A crew chief with the 302nd Airlift Wing marshals a Modular Airborne Firefighting System-equipped C-130 in preparation for take-off at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., April 16. Aircraft and crews from the 302nd AW have been assigned to assist the Mexican government in fighting wildland fires in Northern Mexico. The MAFFS unit, which is owned and maintained by the U.S. Forest Service, is a pressurized self-contained firefighting system designed for installation in C-130 aircraft without structural modifications to the aircraft. The system is designed to air-drop fire-retardant chemicals onto wildfires.

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A C-130 equipped with a U.S.D.A. Forest Service Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System departs here April 17, 2011 to fight a wildfire in a neighborhood in Austin. U.S. Northern Command has deployed six C-130 aircraft fitted with MAFFS to support the battle against ongoing wildfires in the area.

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U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Shane Sturgeon fills up a C-130 Hercules's Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System aircraft with fire retardant before it departs here, April 17, 2011, to support firefighting against the wildfires in Texas. Sergeant Sturgeon is a maintainer assigned to the 302nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron out of Peterson AFB, Colo.

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A wildfire burns land near Austin, Texas April 17, 2011. U.S. Northern Command has deployed six C-130 aircraft fitted with the U.S. Forest Service Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System to Texas to support the fight against ongoing wildfires.

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A Modular Airborne Firefighting System-equipped C-130 assigned to the 302nd Airlift Wing prepares for take-off at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., April 16. The aircraft is one of two MAFFS-equipped aircraft assigned to assist the Mexican government in fighting wildland fires in Northern Mexico. The MAFFS unit, which is owned and maintained by the U.S. Forest Service, is a pressurized self-contained firefighting system designed for installation in C-130 aircraft without structural modifications to the aircraft. The system is designed to air-drop fire-retardant chemicals onto wildfires.

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Panel members take questions during the NORAD and USNORTHCOM Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Conference at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs, Colo., April 5. The conference focused on educating military, state and local officials on the roles the different CBRN organizations would play in planning for, resopnding to and recovering from a radiological attack on a U.S. city.

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Army Col. Marc Hutson, Defense Coordination Officer for FEMA Region 8, briefs members of the media about flights coming into Denver International Airport from Japan as part of Operation Pacific Passage. DIA received its first flight of 144 people March 24 as part of the voluntary departure of military dependents from Japan following the earthquake and tsunami that struck the country March 11.

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60th Air Mobility Wing commander Col. James Vechery welcomes Melissa Wilds and her children as they arrive at Travis AFB, Calif. Wilds and her children were part of approximately 240 military family members who returned to the U.S. from Japan following the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit the island nation. Wilds' husband is in the U.S. Navy and stationed at Yokosuka Naval Base.

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Petty Officer 1st Class Laurie Roods, Navy Operational Support Center Denver, helps Gloria Loveday find her cat after landing at Denver International Airport March 24. Members of all four military branches are working in support of the aerial port of debarkation at DIA as part of Operation Pacific Passage. DIA began receiving military dependents March 24, joining Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Wash., and Travis Air Force Base, Calif. as points of debarkation for military dependents leaving Japan following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

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Staff Sgt. Katie Speer, 60th Air Mobility Wing command chief executive, carries a child off the military chartered flight March 22. Approximately 500 passengers arrived at Travis Air Force Base in support of Operation Pacific Passage. On March 17, the Office of the Secretary of Defense approved voluntary assisted departures to the United States for family members residing in Japan. These flights will continue for the foreseeable future to accommodate the needs of our service member’s families.

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Lt. Col. Carrie Acree, Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officer, holds five-week old Adrian Morant while his mother gets situated at the Denver International Airport aerial port of debarkation March 24. More than 140 military dependents from Japan flew into DIA as part of Operation Pacific Passage, a voluntary departure operation that began after the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan March 11.

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Master Sgt. Cory Gatewood, left, welcomes a Navy family to Travis Air Force Base after a flight from Japan. Volunteers from Naval Air Stations Lemoore and Fallon assisted Travis Air Force Base personnel with the arrival of military families voluntarily evacuating Japan.

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Staff Sgt. Jose Grimes, search and rescue duty officer with the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., monitors the radar as he coordinates with another agency during a SAR mission. Sergeant Grimes played a critical role in locating a downed aircraft March 7 near the Canadian border in Maine and coordinating bi-national assets to rescue the aircrew member who survived.

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Master Sgt. Jose Torres, a cyber systems manager on the Joint Task Force - Space Transportation System team, works with Maj. Normand Burroughs, team director of communications, to ensure all computer requirements are met prior to and during the shuttle launch mission.

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Capt. Kenneth Moerscher, a representative on the Joint Task Force Space - Transportation System team from the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, monitors a shuttle launch from the Morrell Operations Center at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

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Maj. Larry Skipper, 601st Air and Space Operations Center configuration manager at Tyndall AFB, Fla., adjusts a Joint-Based Expeditionary Connectivity Center antenna at Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., before the final launch of Space Shuttle Discovery Feb. 24, 2011. JBECC provides a comprehensive air picture to the entire launch team.

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