TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (USTCNS) --- "It's another first for Travis Air Force Base," Senior Master Sgt. Jerald Johnson says with pride.
Johnson, vehicle maintenance manager for the 60th Transportation Squadron, is referring to the aerial delivery of the base's newest firefighting vehicle. The P-23 crash and fire suppression vehicle was delivered via C-17 cargo jet to Travis AFB, Calif., from McChord AFB, Wash.
"This is the first time it has ever been done," Johnson said of the delivery. "It's a first in Air Force history. The delivery was perfect. The truck was downloaded and is being put through diagnostic tests at this moment. It looks real good."
The P-23 will enter the fleet as the third of its kind on base, but its value is unmistakable. "The vehicle is designed with turrets instead of hoses," Johnson explains. Like a cannon, the new truck is able to "shoot" foam or water, as the situation dictates.
The truck's primary mission will be to support emergency landings here at Travis, according to Johnson.
"It's not very well adapted to deal with a fire in, say, base housing -- it's an emergency vehicle for flight ops [operations]."
Johnson states that this latest addition to Team Travis is part of the "facelift of our firefighting capabilities."
He points to the fact that the Fire Protection Flight has had an older model P-15 sitting in disrepair for some time, in need of a new engine.
The newer and more effective P-23 "saved us about $20,000 by not forcing us to have to buy a new engine for the P-15," Johnson said.
The money was saved because of the redistribution of fire protection equipment throughout Air Mobility Command.
"AMC looked at the fire capability of all of its bases," Johnson explains. "They recognized that we had some older model vehicles that needed to be updated. The Air Force requires a certain gallonage per airframe, and we just didn't have enough, so there was a redistribution."
The P-23 was transferred from McChord's inventory to Travis's.
"We should be removing and receiving another vehicle around October or November," Johnson adds.
Johnson isn't the only one taking pride in the new arrival. Airman 1st Class Dana Mosby, a fire truck mechanic apprentice with 60th TRANS, is also beaming.
"She already calls it 'My Baby,'" Johnson says with a laugh.
"Everybody's kidding me that they're going to put a sign on it saying, 'Dana's Truck,'" Mosby jokes. "Ever since I was in Tech School, the P-23 has been my favorite truck. It's just neat how it works. I never thought I could get so excited about a fire truck, but I just like the P-23." (FROM AIR MOBILITY COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS).
