Capt. Alex McArdel, 141st Air Refueling Wing RC-26B aircraft mission systems officer, uses the aircraft's camera to map and detect wildland fires in the north-western region of the United States, August 1, 2021. 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 from up to 60 nautical miles away 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 in support of the U.S. Forest Service. (Photo courtesy of 1st Lt. Adam King)