As of Monday afternoon, most base services remained closed at MacDill Air Force Base (AFB), Florida. The base, which sits just a few feet above sea level near Tampa Bay, experienced flooding in its low-lying areas, while a major clean-up effort was needed to clear debris. Like much of the Gulf Coast of the Sunshine State, MacDill AFB was left with widespread power outages after Hurricane Helene devastated the region.
Other bases in Florida and neighboring Georgia – including Tyndall AFB, Eglin AFB, and Robins AFB – escaped the storm with minimal damage. Yet all were prepared for the very worst. MacDill evacuated its fleet of KC-135 tankers ahead of the storm, while other aircraft were moved from bases in the region as the life-threatening Category 4 hurricane made its way toward Florida’s panhandle.
Mandatory Military Evacuations
The United States military is ready to respond to emergencies, but it also is largely more prepared for the worst than most civilians. Even before the state issued mandatory evacuation orders to residents, the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy had sprung into action – relocating personnel, aircraft, and ships.
The U.S. Navy’s destroyers USS Delbert D. Black (DDG-119) and USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) departed Naval Station Mayport last Tuesday, while USS Mason (DDG-87) and USS Lassen (DDG-82) left a day later. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers headed to sea, where they could move away from the path of the storm.
Other vessels that were in maintenance periods remained pier side. According to the U.S. Navy, storm preparation involved positioning the ships at heavy weather moors with additional storm lines. Aircraft were either evacuated to other bases or secured in all-weather hangars.
Past Lessons
The Air Force has experience with all sorts of weather, and Tyndall AFB was devastated by 2018’s Hurricane Michael, which ripped the ceilings off hangars, leveled groves of trees, and even destroyed several buildings.
In advance of that storm, most of the base’s Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fleet was relocated, but around a dozen of the fifth-generation air superiority fighters remained and sustained damage. After the base recovered, the decision was made to permanently relocate the F-22s. Not wanting to repeat the costly mistake from 2018, all of Tyndall AFB’s Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II multirole fighter aircraft were relocated to Nellis AFB, Nevada, or Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. In addition, Tyndall’s QF-16 aerial target aircraft and E-9 prop planes were relocated to Gulfport, Miss.
Eleven of MacDill AFB’s 13 KC-135s were sent to Bangor, Maine, and Pease, New Hampshire, but two remained in the hangers. It is unclear at press time how those two refueler aircraft endured the storm.
Sunshine State Often in Hurricane Crosshairs
The Sunshine State is strategically located providing access to the sea lanes in the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean. In total, Florida is home to 24 military installations, including major air bases, naval air stations, and Coast Guard stations, while it is also noted for its training and test ranges.
The U.S. military presence currently accounts for about 10% of Florida’s economy.
However, more storms – including tropical and subtropical cyclones – hit Florida more than any other U.S. state. Since 1851, there have been only 18 hurricane seasons that passed without a known storm impacting Florida. Tropical cyclones have also impacted the state every month of the year except for January and March.
In just over the past three decades, tropical and subtropical storms resulted in more than $300 billion in damages – not counting Hurricane Helene.
