After launch at Kelly Field: activity continues at the 910th’s aerial spray ops base

Air Force Reserve Lt. Col. Bart Elsea, mission commander for the 910th Airlift Wing Hurricane Harvey Mosquito Control Aerial Spray Mission watches intently as a specially modified Air Force Reserve C-130 Hercules aircraft, assigned to the 910th Airlift Wing based at Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio, takes off from the Kelly Field Annex here, Sept. 19, 2017. The aircraft is one of three C-130s conducting mosquito control aerial spray applications over areas of eastern Texas devastated by Hurricane Harvey. Since operations began, this special mission has treated more than 2.3 million acres at the direction of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to assist in recovery efforts by helping contain the significant increase in pest insects caused by large amounts of standing, stagnant water. The 910th Airlift Wing operates the Department of Defense’s only aerial spray capability to control pest insect populations, eliminate undesired and invasive vegetation and disperse oil spills in large bodies of water. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Bob Barko Jr.)