Also called: Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System crew, Air National Guard / Air Force Reserve C-130 firefighting crew
Guard and Reserve C-130 crews who roll special tanks into their planes and drop fire retardant on wildfires.
When wildfires overwhelm civilian air tankers, MAFFS crews from wings in California, Wyoming, Colorado, and North Carolina load 3,000-gallon tanks and fly low over fires alongside Forest Service lead planes.
Full-time Guard members earn active-duty RMC; part-time drilling members earn drill pay (roughly $4k-$12k/yr for junior enlisted) on top of a civilian job or college. 2026 estimate. Pilots earn more.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 2 years after high school. Pilots need a commission and flight school; loadmasters and engineers enlist; then MAFFS certification. Free-college benefits: Tuition Assistance (up to $4,500/yr) while serving, the Post-9/11 GI Bill (36 months of tuition + housing stipend) afterward, and SkillBridge internships before separating.
Ways in: Military, On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Aviation.
Growing about average. Military specialties are not in BLS projections. The services recruit for this job every year and openings track force size and retention rather than market growth.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Autonomous firefighting aircraft are being tested; crewed C-130 drops stay for now.
Classes: Physics, Earth science.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.