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" An Air Force reserve unit that can spray chemicals that break down oil is on standby, awaiting presidential approval to spray the slick that has threatened the Gulf Coast for days, officials say. The 757th Airlift Squadron 910th Airlift Wing is the only defense department asset that has large fixed-wing airplanes, modified C-130 transports, that can conduct aerial spray missions. These usually involve spraying pesticides to protect U.S. troops from insect-borne diseases, a mission the Air Force has conducted since the 1970s, but the 910th has also more recently been training to combat oil spills by spraying the surface with chemicals that breaks down oil molecules. &amp;quot;This is the first time we&amp;#039;ll be doing this in a real-world scenario,&amp;quot; says Master Sgt. Bob Barko, chief spokesman for the 910th Airlift Wing, based at Youngtown-Warren Air Reserve Station in Ohio. &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;ve trained for years, but fortunately there hasn&amp;#039;t been a disaster of the magnitude that required us to conduct this mission.&amp;quot; That changed last week when a BP-operated oil rig exploded, resulting in thousands of barrels of oil leaking into Gulf waters. The slick is approaching the coastline. When the extent of the spill became clear, the 910th started to pre-stage equipment and prepare for a possible call to action\u2014one that came this afternoon. One spray-ready C-130H was already on the Gulf Coast on a training mission, and two other C-130Hs joined it at Stennis International Airport in Mississippi. More than 20 Air Force reservists are waiting there now, ready to launch within an hour and a half of receiving orders. The operations start depends on weather and coordination with other cleanup efforts. Booms that extend from the massive cargo airplane spray chemicals like a massive crop duster. Mission specialists control the spray, using a customized GPS system and commands from the navigator. The system, called Wingman, &amp;quot;uses the latest computer technology and has the ability to model pesticide drift based on actual meteorological data during spray operations,&amp;quot; according to a squadron fact sheet. The spray flights are usually marked by sharp, nauseating turns as the C-130H flies patterns over the spill. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s a bumpy ride,&amp;quot; says Barko, who&amp;#039;s flown on several spray missions. The chemicals are &amp;quot;the equivalent of liquid dishwashing detergent. It encompasses the oil molecules and breaks them down into particles the ocean can process naturally,&amp;quot; he says. So what took so long? The squadron is part of the Air Force Reserve, and it takes presidential authorization to allow a military mission to occur on U.S. soil. Such a mission is not without precedent: Aircrews from the 757th sprayed nearly three quarters of a million acres with pesticides after Hurricane Katrina to prevent a plague of mosquitoes from forming in the flooded Gulf Coast region. The mission will also have to be coordinated with the Coast Guard, the Pentagon&amp;#039;s Northern Command, the Navy and local authorities before proceeding. &amp;quot;Once they say &amp;quot;yay&amp;quot; we&amp;#039;ll go out and do our thing,&amp;quot; Barko says. That approval came just after 4pm EST. &amp;amp;gt; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a5686/air-force-waits-to-attack-oil-slick/>