Air Force gives up fight to stop water from engulfing Offutt; one-third of base is flooded

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald

By Steve Liewer

The Air Force's 55th Wing halted efforts to stop the Missouri River from engulfing Offutt Air Force Base overnight Saturday.

About one-third of the base is now underwater, Tech. Sgt. Rachelle Blake, a 55th Wing spokeswoman, said Sunday. Sixty buildings, mostly on the south end of the base, have been damaged. Thirty are completely inundated with as much as 8 feet of water, including the 55th Wing headquarters building, the E-4B Nightwatch hangar and the Bennie Davis Maintenance Facility. There are about 200 buildings on the base.

The headquarters of U.S. Strategic Command, located on a hill, is unaffected. Many of its senior leaders are participating in a worldwide military exercise called Global Lightning, which began Wednesday. StratCom's new headquarters also has suffered no damage.

The base commissary, shopping exchange, chapel, and all base housing is out of the flood zone, and no on-base residents have been evacuated, Blake said.




Read more: https://www.omaha.com/news/military/air-force-gives-up-fight-to-stop-water-from-engulfing/article_631f9b34-5271-50e8-b5eb-19f488daaf32.html

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We live just over one mile upstream, next to the river. We live on a hill and are safe. Below is the view of the flood from our house. Everything past the train tracks should be field, but is covered by water.

[dalton99a]

1. Kick

[NurseJackie]

2. Are those runways ruined? Will they have to be repaired or rebuilt?

[Omaha Steve]

4. The main runway was already scheduled for a major repair from old age

[eggplant]

16. Pontoons!

[jmowreader]

21. Water doesn't hurt asphalt

If there are lights beside a runway, those are probably destroyed (water and electricity don't mix) but the pavement will be fine.

[NurseJackie]

22. I figured that... our asphalt roads survive every time it rains.

I guess I was wondering if the water intruding from the sides and getting into the (ordinarily) dry hardpan would make it soft or unstable... since the intrusion of water would likely take much longer to evaporate than it did to get in.

Also, there's a section of road near me that's regularly flooded... and regularly repaved because the flooding appears to weaken the substrate which allows the asphalt to move and bend and crack and eventually crumble.

[jmowreader]

28. I just found out, it doesn't matter what the flood did to the runway

The Air Force budgeted $100 million last year to replace Offutt's runway.

https://www.omaha.com/news/military/offutt-runway-project-could-hit-million-will-likely-continue-into/article_f11cf924-f468-542e-bae9-2638f36ca5a6.html

For the next year, the Air Force is going to take up residence at Lincoln International Airport while Offutt's runway is down.

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2019/01/27/air-force-to-use-lincoln-airport-during-offutt-runway-repair/

[NurseJackie]

29. Thanks for the info.

[Drahthaardogs]

34. Air Force runways are typically 36 inches of concrete

To accommodate large planes with heavy loads

[Zorro]

3. The military recognizes that climate change is a real threat to national security

Trump and the Trumpettes ignore it to our peril.

[yaesu]

13. I think the majority of the military will continue to vote the cons in nt

[DemocracyMouse]

19. Are they stupid?

[Zorro]

24. I respectfully disagree

Perhaps a majority of the Marines, but I don't think the majority of the rest of the armed forces would vote for Trump.

[Sherman A1]

5. Wow!

Stay Safe!

[KT2000]

6. If this is from the broken dam

How will the water ever recede? The dam looks like it is totaled.

[Omaha Steve]

9. This is not from the broken dam

Upriver from us is the Gavins point dam. It was at capacity and had to release water at the same time snowmelt and heavy rains came down. A perfect screw up.

[KT2000]

15. OK - thanks! n/t

[Historic NY]

7. Maybe it time to move the base out of a flood zone....

its a game that can't be won. I often wondered how much money was thrown around back during base closings to keep some of these around. They shuttered our AFB in 1969 it was the first, now it has one of the longest runways on the east coast outside of NY City, NG & Marine wings and its run by the Port Authority. It was a SAC base that covered the Northeast. We saw how that folly came to light during 911 w/o FT fighter support.

[Zorro]

23. Stratcom isn't going anywhere

[McKim]

32. Even Better

Even better it could be permanently flooded and become a bird refuge. I am tired of paying for our bases at home and abroad.

[bobbieinok]

8. Is this the base where planes carrying A bombs were/are based? In 50s,60s---??

[lastlib]

27. It's a major SAC base, IIRC...

I believe it was also where W hid out after 9/11 attacks.

[2naSalit]

35. Back in the day I made deliveries there

a time or three... was a SAC base then.

[okaawhatever]

37. It was SAC headquarters, and yes it is where they took Bush on 9/11. Some may remember

the old Matthew Broderick movie "War Games". The line from the computer asking "Shall we play a game?" usually comes up in pop culture. It was in the movie Captain America. Anyway, the movie storyline has Broderick trying to get to SAC to stop a nuclear launch.

It also hosted the:

On 3 February 1961, SAC's Boeing EC-135 Looking Glass, began operations[60] as the Airborne Command Post for the Nuclear Triad and the Post-Attack Command and Control System. From this date and for the next 29 1/2 years, until 24 July 1990, SAC would maintain at least one Looking Glass aircraft continuously aloft 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with an embarked SAC general officer and battle staff, ready to assume command of all strategic nuclear strike forces in the event that SAC headquarters was destroyed in a Soviet first strike.

So basically, the guys in the plane were there to insure a strike on Russian targets should we get nuked. Part of the mutual destruction plan both countries had.

[Bengus81]

30. McConnell here in Wichita was one of the largest for nukes.......

B-52's galore and Titan missile sites were built all around Wichita. We received some of the first B1-B's. It was a SAC base from the beginning until SAC was told to stand down.

[BigmanPigman]

10. When the water eventually goes down to the gulf residents in the

southern states along the Mississippi will be inundated. CNN said this will happen in a few weeks as the tributaries continue pouring more water into the larger rivers then into the Mississippi. It is going to be very bad.

[brandnewday2009]

11. I live in Omaha.

Omaha (and Offutt AFB) are not usually a "flood plain." West of Omaha in Elkhorn it is the same, and some towns are now islands. We had nearly 2-feet of snow that melted in about 36-hours, and on top of that, torrential downpours added to the influx of water. Climate change caused this. In my 48 years, this has NEVER happened.

[Hortensis]

12. Thanks for the report. Glad you're on high ground.

[DBoon]

14. Who says climate change isn't a national security issue?

nt

[Volaris]

18. The Commander In Chief LOL!

[ancianita]

20. Right. I'll add that DU can connect that point to our leading climate change candidate, Jay Inslee,

who has continually echoed that very assessment by the Pentagon.

[NutmegYankee]

25. DOD is planning for it.

Despite the WH, the DOD branches are planning for it to destabilize the world and hurt installations. Norfolk is a prime risk.

[bronxiteforever]

17. Kick and recommend for visibility.

[NCjack]

26. Liar-45: "This flood is not due to global climate change, which is a

fake emergency. Who are you going to believe -- me or your lying eyes?"

[SeattleVet]

31. Naval Air Station Offutt?

[c-rational]

33. We as a country spend far too much money on our military. Maybe this is a good time to reorder

our priorities.

[cstanleytech]

39. To put it into perspective we spend as much as the top 10 combined countries spend

which includes China and Russia.
So yes, the military budget needs a drastic cut by atleast 1/3 at a minimum and they should redirect the money to things like infrastructure which is vital to our nation.

[Chin music]

36. Maybe those construction soldiers shouldnt be building trumps wall?

They should be building levees, and securing the country. putin loves it when planes can't take off.

[cstanleytech]

38. Given they are on a major river prone to flooding you would have thought they would

have had been better prepared to protect things like those flight simulators which are probably now giant paperweights.

[Omaha Steve]

40. A new photo of the base

[Sapient Donkey]

41. Our newest navy base...

[Maxheader]

42. Might think they'd want all the aircraft, I helped pay for..

moved...

At Offutt, the 55th Wing managed to fly out nine of the 33 reconnaissance jets based there Saturday evening, according to 55th Wing Commander Col. Michael Manion’s official Facebook post. Some were flown to the Lincoln Airport, where the Nebraska Air National Guard has a base.

Five planes were still parked on the northwest taxiway and the apron Sunday morning. Blake said it’s not clear yet when or whether they’ll be moved. No planes have been damaged in the floods.