181st Intelligence Wing trains with infrared cameras

     Airmen from the 181st Intelligence Wing, Indiana Air National Guard conducted multiple training missions over the past year to provide continuation training products and to train and test the capability to provide Incident Awareness and Assessment to civilian disaster first responders.
     In September airmen flew with an Shelbyville Indiana Army Guard UH-60 Blackhawk on a training sortie to Clay County to test an Infrared Camera during a controlled burn with Cory and Posey Township fire departments.
     "Out west, there are thousands of acres on fire," said Staff Sgt. Kevin Arnett. "If we are dropping fire retardant from an aircraft and the area is smoke covered, we don't know if it's hitting the right spot. So the point is to pinpoint where to drop it."
     The mission imaged the fire at 500, 1000, 1500, 2000, and 2500 ft. The images were utilized to keep airmen current on their analysis training requirements. In addition, images were downloaded after landing for delivery to the notional fire team in a notional Western state.
     The training and testing will allow airmen in the 181st Intelligence Wing to maintain their currency and to begin assessing how capable the camera will be in providing Incident Analysis and Assessment to local first responders and incident commanders in the event of a disaster in Indiana.