VP-40 Aids Firefighting Efforts in Greece

By Lt. Eric Maynard, VP-40

On the morning of August 5, 2021 the “Fighting Marlins” of Patrol Squadron (VP) 40 received the call to fly their P-8A Poseidon aircraft over Greece to aid in the firefighting efforts throughout the country.

VP-40 searched for wildfires and communicated their locations to Greece along with other pertinent information that could help firefighters. The squadron flew 25 total flight hours to locate nearly 20 wildfires that covered the country.

Providing support for firefighting is not a normal mission for the P-8, but the aircraft does have capabilities that are useful in firefighting efforts. The P-8 can carry the fuel necessary to fly for several hours, which allowed the mission crews to scan the whole country for wildfires and provide a few locations that were unknown to the Greek firefighters.

In two of the missions, crews orbited above the island Evia, which was hit hard by the blazes. They tracked the movement of the island’s multiple fires and passed that information along so that firefighters could focus their efforts as necessary. The use of the infrared (IR) camera on the aircraft provided imagery of “hot spots,” which made tracking easier since the IR was unaffected by the dense smoke that blanketed the ground.

“After almost 17 years in the Navy with deployments to Iraq, 5th, 6th and 7th Fleets, I would have to say working with Greece to save lives, as well as the people’s livelihood and preserve the vast amount of history in the country, was the pinnacle of my career,” said U.S. Navy Naval Aircrewman (Operator) 1st Class Kenny Hauck, one of the operators on the flights. “Knowing we have fires back home that are causing the same kind of destruction in their wake, it was amazing to be able to coordinate and work together. I just hope we were able to help the cause and save what we all hold so close to our hearts.”

These flights were a testament to the willingness of the United States to provide aid whenever and wherever possible. The coordination between the U.S., Greece and Italy made it possible for VP-40 to answer the call and rise to the challenge.

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