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.
The 301st Fighter Wing in Fort Worth, Texas, became the first standalone Reserve unit in the Air Force to get its own F-35s, welcoming the first fighter Nov. 5.