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Show HILLTOP TIMES 50 yean flMES November 1, 2007 SLC chamber salutes military BYDARRELLRECTOR Hilltop Times Correspondent S Todd Cromar/U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Kathleen Close, Ogden Air Logistics Center commander, presents a 50year pin to employee Eric Roberts, 518th Combat Sustainment Squadron, during a ceremony on Oct. 24. Air Force crews help fight wildfires BY 1 ST LT. JODY RITCHIE 302nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs C HANNEL ISLANDS AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Calif. — While no Hill Air Force Base crews have been involved in fighting the Southern California fires, the military crews in the planes dropping fire retardant on wildfire flames there face hazards and challenges unique to their humanitarian mission. The crews fly at low altitude and face possible violent updrafts and downdrafts caused by the heat of the fire. Factor in other sudden changes in aircraft behavior when more than 20,000 pounds of fire retardant slurry are released from the plane. Then there's the smoke that reduces visibility, even as they're maneuvering over terrain with multiple air and ground assets in close proximity. With those challenges in mind, crews train annually to ensure they can handle the hazards of the job flying a C-130 Hercules aircraft equipped with a modular airborne firefighting system. "Not everybody can do this. You • have to prove you can handle it," said Maj. Wiley D. Walno II, a pilot with the Wyoming Air National Guard's 153rd Airlift Wing based in Cheyenne. ALT LAKE CITY — Hundreds of military supporters packed the Little America Hotel ballroom recently as they participated, in the seventh annual Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce Military Tribute. The chamber stepped forward to recognize those who have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Bagpipes heralded in the evening while the retiring of the flags brought activities to an end in this formal affair. For the Air Force, Army, Marines and Navy, event sponsors nominated the best of the best to receive these awards in their respective units located in Utah. Keynote speaker was Maj. Gen. Kathleen Close, commander of the Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill Air Force Base. The base is the largest single-site employer in Utah and as such plays a major role in the overall economy for the state of Utah, it was noted. As one employer attending the event said, "This is just one small way that we here can say thanks to those who serve." Close began her remarks by stating that the Air Force and personal at HAFB have been involved with the War on Terror for the past 17 years with operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and throughout the world. "We have personal that are in their second and third assignments to the Middle East, and yet they are willing to go. One of the biggest problems we face today is the fact that most of our aircraft are aging with the average age of our aircraft now at 17 years," she said. "With aircraft like the A-10 scheduled to stay on line until 2030 we have to get more with less. We are working to modernize what we have. We are updating the A-10 to be able to deliver smart munitions and also giving new wings to the A-10," Close said. "The skills of our people have to be updated as well. Our ICBM force is being upgraded. And now the F-22 program in coming on line as well." The major general spoke of the four personnel that the Air Force family at Hill has lost since the beginning of the war on terror. "They were doing what they are trained for and what they were assigned to do. Three of them were lost attempting to disarm an IED. A fourth lost their life serving in the combat zone," she said. Awards honorees from the Air Force included Capt. Gene "Chris" Buckner, Utah Air National Guar,; Lt. Col. Mark Pantone, U.S. Air Force Reserve; Senior Master Sgt. William G. WestfaU, Utah Air National Guard; and Senior Master Sgt. Craig Fowler, U.S. Air Force Reserve. Caption correction The caption underneath a photo on a recent Hill AFB Operational Readiness Exercise with the article, "Exercise a Total Force Success," was incorrect, ft should have read: Airman 1st Class Gabriel Nascimento, 75th Comptroller Squadron, is assisted with his gas mask by Staff Sgt. Shaun Deegan, 75th Mission Support Group, during an operational readiness exercise held here. This is the first time the 388th Fighter Wing, 419th Fighter Wing and the Ogden ALC have jointly participated in readiness exercises. Photo credit: Alex R. Uoyd/U.S. Air Force Awards Airmen Committed to Excellence award Dr. John Beery, 75th Medical Group Lt. Col. 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