By Wes O’Donnell
Managing Editor, In Military, InCyberDefense and In Space News. Veteran, U.S. Army & U.S. Air Force.
When I was stationed at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, it was always interesting to watch the Air Force scramble to respond to frequent tornado warnings in Tornado Alley.
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Occasionally, meteorologists would predict that conditions would be ideal for a tornado outbreak up to 24 hours in advance. However, the tornadoes were often unpredictable. In cases with almost no warning, all the Air Force could do was tie down the aircraft and hope for the best.
As Air Force maintainers, we often joked with gallows humor that a tornado would come and sweep away all of our aircraft, leaving us with ample free time and a break from work.
Fortunately, that never happened. But what does the military do when they have advanced warning of a natural disaster like a hurricane similar to Dorian?
They Evacuate People and Other Military Assets
As of this writing, Hurricane Dorian is still churning away off the coast of Florida as a Category 2 storm, with sustained winds of 110 mph.
At Patrick Air Force Base in Florida, the 45th Space Wing ordered a limited evacuation of all non-essential personnel.
At Naval Station Mayport, Florida, the U.S. 4th Fleet ordered all ships to make for safe areas in the Atlantic. The USS Shamal (PC 13), USS Lassen (DDG 82), USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117), USS Farragut (DDG 99), USS Billings (LCS 15) and USS Milwaukee (LCS 15) are already underway.
Ships get underway from Naval Station Mayport, Fla., Oct. 30th, as #USNavy continue preparations ahead of #HurricaneDorian. Visit @SouthCom homepage to get helpful information about hurricane preparedness. https://t.co/gxEAYZjU3D pic.twitter.com/NtOiLqKiDf
— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) August 31, 2019
Naval Air Station Jacksonville also evacuated all nonessential personnel and flew aircraft to locations in the interior of the country. In 2018, Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida took a direct hit from Hurricane Michael that completely devastated the base. This year, Tyndall issued a fact sheet to provide helpful information for airmen ordered to evacuate.
U.S. Army soldiers at Fort Stewart, Georgia have also been ordered to evacuate; married servicemembers were told to follow the guidance of state and local evacuation officials. Single soldiers were ordered to evacuate to Fort Gordon via bus or their own vehicles.
Moody Air Force Base in Georgia ordered 16 A-10 Warthog jets and their maintainers to Little Rock, Arkansas.
South Carolina Military Installations Also Taking Precautions
As Dorian now takes aim at the Carolinas, multiple military installations in South Carolina have begun moving assets away from the danger. Two of the Marine Corps’ coastal South Carolina installations, the Parris Island recruit depot and the Beaufort air station, have been ordered to evacuate.
Brig. Gen. James Glynn, the commanding general of Marine Corps Recruit Depot and the Eastern Recruiting Region, addresses families in regards to the mandatory evacuation of the depot due to the potential impact by Hurricane Dorian. The mandatory evacuation is in place starting today at 5 pm and will remain in effect until it is rescinded.
Posted by Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C. on Monday, September 2, 2019
Shaw Air Force Base and Joint Base Charleston, both in South Carolina have limited evacuations in effect.
Good Evening and Happy Labor Day Team Shaw, Around 8 p.m. tonight we will enter HURCON 3, indicating we may see tropical storm winds within the next 48 hours. While the forecast doesn't look too bad for us here currently, Hurricane Dorian’s track could always change overnight so please continue to make adequate preparations. All facilities will be operating under normal hours tomorrow. However, if you are scheduled to attend USAFCENT’s PERSCO pre-deployment brief on 4-5 Sept, it has been cancelled. SMSgt Misty Moreno will be in touch with you to reschedule. If you have any questions, please ask below and we will try to get them answered tonight or in the update tomorrow morning. Stay safe and sweet dreams.
Posted by Shaw Air Force Base on Monday, September 2, 2019
The Path of Hurricane Dorian Is Unpredictable
Hurricane Dorian continues to confound meteorologists as forecasters struggle to predict where the storm will make landfall after its devastation of the Bahamas. The area that the storm could potentially hit makes up no less than four U.S. states.
With such a wide area, millions of people could be affected. For its part, the military is taking no chances protecting ships, aircraft and most importantly, personnel from Dorian’s life-threatening conditions.
Keep it dialed in to EDMDigest.com and follow @AMUdisastercrew on Twitter for the latest Dorian updates.
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