 There are various types of air support available to the crew boss in the completion of hand crew operations, such as retardant drops from air tankers and helicopters, logistical sling loads, paracargo, reconnaissance flights, and personnel movement. When ordering logistical support, the crew boss should follow procedures established by the operations section chief. The ordering process is normally communicated at the incident briefing. The procedures dealing with medical emergency situations and transport of injured personnel must be fully understood by the crew boss. The crew boss must determine the urgency of the situation. There are separate levels of response dealing with minor and life-threatening injuries. In the case of minor injuries, appropriate transportation of the injured individual should be coordinated through the operation supervisor. In the event of a life-threatening injury, a medivac should be activated through proper communication channels, which are listed in the incident action plan, IAP Medical Plan. When using aircraft, crew bosses should anticipate needs as early as possible. Make sure the need is an appropriate use of air support. Inform his or her supervisor of the support needed, time needed, location to be delivered, and ground contact. Confirm the radio frequency the mission will be conducted on and the aircraft resource identifier or tail number. Remember, helicopter pilots usually talk directly with ground contacts when approaching target areas. The air tactical group supervisor directs the tactical use of aircraft and receives priorities from the initial action incident commander or the operations section chief. The crew boss should keep in mind there are situations where air operations may not be appropriate or safe. Some of these situations may be poor visibility, smoke or clouds, heavy timber overstory, snags, low values at risk. Keep in mind that all aircraft require an out, a clear flight path out of the drop area. High winds greatly reduce drop accuracy and aircraft flight safety. Rotor wash or aircraft vortex problems. Aircraft dropping close to the ground may cause flare-ups associated with the turbulent air following their flight path. Requesting air support late in the day may mean a loss of daylight. Basic air operations, S270, addresses aircraft capabilities and restrictions in more detail. It is suggested training for the crew boss position. To use aircraft effectively, it is very important to communicate to the pilots what you want and where you want it performed. Consider the pilots point of view, especially when giving directions right or left. While your visual perspective on the ground may give you only a few reportable clues, a pilot may see thousands of clues. Signal mirror, map grid and the clock method are used in combination with radio communications to identify ground location or target. When using the clock method, the crew boss orients the pilot based on the 12 hour points of a clock. To direct an aircraft using the clock method, the person on the ground must first make visual contact with the aircraft. Imagine a clock lying horizontally through the aircraft. The 12 o'clock position always extends straight through the nose of the aircraft. Add the vertical dimension of high, low or even. The pilot will be able to narrow the scanning area even further. Add distance. It is difficult to determine the direction of flight when an aircraft is at a distance. So ask the pilot to make a 90 degree turn. Reference from a known location, mountain peaks, roads or road intersections, valley bottoms or ridges. Reference to the parts of a fire. For example, here is a basic fire diagram. This demonstrates target position. These are cardinal points. Here is an example of natural barriers. This illustrates loads already dropped. And this is an example of personnel and equipment. After successfully identifying the target area, it is essential that the crew boss communicates the target objective to the pilot.