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C-130 News: Air Force Reserve units ready to spray pesticide for Zika-carrying mosquitoes


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2016-07-03 Zika.jpg

Scorching, humid temperatures have a way of killing summer fun. But this year, the sticky air could bring an ugly visitor — Zika.

The virus poses a threat to service members across 190 Defense Department installations in areas where Zika-carrying mosquitoes could migrate.

Luckily, the 910th Airlift Wing is already in the business of killing insects. Members of the wing out of the Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio, said they’re already up and running about the country spraying for their busy mosquito season.

“It’s not just for the nuisance of them, but they’re also capable of spreading diseases as well,” said Capt. Jonathan Blackann, 757th Airlift Squadron pilot.“We’re trying to keep our brothers and sisters in arms out of harm's way by getting rid of the disease carrying vectors.”

The 910th’s 757th Airlift Squadron has six C-130H Hercules aircraft complete with a modular aerial spray system, or MASS — the Defense Department’s only aerial spray maintenance flight. The products they carry in their aerial spray tanks vary depending on mission, said maintenance chief Senior Master Sgt. Phil Aliberti.

The Zika scare has cast a cloud over the Summer Olympics in Brazil, and although squadron members say they haven't gotten a call for help, they’re ready.

“We are prepared to go overseas ... we train for all sorts of situations, and if the government says to go take care of that mission, we’ll be ready,” Blackann said.

According to a Pentagon memo released in March, senior defense officials have instructed installation managers to increase surveillance for certain mosquito species and to eradicate them in housing areas, near child development and youth centers, around barracks and elsewhere.

The reserve flight often sprays near or over DoD sites in states like Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Dakota.

“On a pesticide mission, you’re trying to float a cloud of chemical where the mosquitoes are flying so you can eradicate them,” Aliberti said. “It depends on the chemical we’re spraying and the dispersion rate we’re spraying for but we can go anywhere from two large nozzles just dumping chemical to 35 or 40 nozzles.”

Flying low at 100 to 150 feet, at 230 mph, the crew has very detailed topographical maps to ensure they get through the areas they need to spray, and avoid a collision. On board are pilots, navigators, flight engineers, spray operators, loadmasters and entomologists, ranging from six to nine crew members depending on a day or night mission, Blackann said.

“The entomologist is either on board or in the spray area itself,” he said. “Once we enter the spray area, the navigator will let the sprayers know when to spray once we enter the block. … And we’ll do another pass depending on how much of the area needs to be sprayed.”

Blackann said most flights are done in one to two hours, but insecticide spray, a lighter mist, can make for an all-day mission.

“We’re likely to run out of fuel before we run out of [bug] spray,” he said.

Source: http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/2016/07/03/air-force-reserve-units-ready-spray-pesticide-zika-carrying-mosquitoes/86567112/


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