Capt. Chris Coenen, 187th Fighter Wing, Alabama Air National Guard, RC-26B pilot, performs a preflight check of the U.S. Air Force RC-26B Metroliner aircraft prior to departing for a wildland fire mapping and detection mission in support of the U.S. Forest Service at the Eugene Airport, Eugene, Ore., August 1, 2021. Coenen is flying with the 141st Air Refueling Wing, Washington Air National Guard. The RC-26 is tasked with utilizing its highly mobile platform by making infrared images and video of the fires from above in order to map and detect wildland fires and hotspots in the western region of the United States. The RC-26 crews can detect hotspots before they become fires and help direct teams to those locations. First Air Force (Air Forces Northern), U.S. Northern Command’s Air Component, is the DoD’s operational lead for the aerial military wildland fire fighting response. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Thomas Cox)