New York Army National Guard Aviators Train on Water Bucket Procedures

SCHUYLERVILLE, NY (06/28/2011)(readMedia)-- New York Army National Guard aviators assigned to Army Aviation Support Facility #3 at Albany International Airport in Latham spent two hours on Tuesday, June 28 training on the use of "Bambi Buckets" in the Hudson River.

Bambi Buckets, a trademarked name for a collapsible water buckets made by SEI Industries of Canada, can hold 660 gallons of water. The helicopter crews fill them by dipping them in a pond or river. They then fly over a brush fire or forest fire, dump the load, and then go back for more.

Army National Guard aviators have to qualify with the firefighting buckets each summer so they are prepared to assist the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation and other state and local agencies in fighting wild fires during the summer months.

Two helicopters were used to train 12 Soldiers in flying with the full buckets underneath their aircraft.

Posted Tuesday June 28, 2011 at 02:20 pm by New York State Division of Military & Naval Affairs
Last Updated Friday July 01, 2011 at 09:34 am