“Love that dirty water…”
“…Offutt you’re my home.”
Home Of Strategic Command And Some Of The USAF’s Most Prized Aircraft Is Flooding
Offutt Air Force Base is succumbing to the massively swollen Missouri River and things could get worse before they get better.
Things are not going well at the Air Force’s strategic base near the flooding Missouri River. Rivers and creeks crested Saturday, with more flooding predicted down-stream. The National Weather Service says the Missouri River at St. Joseph reached nearly 26 feet on Saturday, about a foot below what’s considered major flooding at the northwest Missouri city. But it’s expected to crest Wednesday or Thursday at 29.3 feet — more than two feet above major flooding level.
This is not good news.
By Tyler Rogoway
The home to America’s prized RC-135 “Rivet Joint” strategic reconnaissance and E-4B “Nightwatch” Advanced Airborne Command Post aircraft, as well as others, and the headquarters of U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM), is flooding with water from a swollen Missouri River.Offutt Air Force Base sits near Omaha, Nebraska and is considered one of the most critical installations in the U.S. Air Force’s portfolio. Not only does it house extremely high-value, but low density reconnaissance and command and control aircraft—massively expensive platforms that are essential to national security—but it is also the beating heart of STRATCOM that oversees America’s strategic nuclear forces. In fact, a brand new command bunker, buried underground at the base, was just opened in January—which sounds far less than ideal considering water is now nearly covering the end of the base’s runway.
A conga line of RC-135s were tracked escaping the impending deluge.
The thing is that the fleet of aircraft housed at Offutt is among the oldest in the USAF’s inventory and has received quite a reputation as of late for less than stellar readiness. In other words, some aircraft may not have been able to fly out. And even if most were good to go, there will almost always be a number left behind due to various circumstances—most commonly of which is being down for deep maintenance.
Read the rest of the article here: The War Zone.
Other services are preparing for more flooding- the Missouri Highway Patrol is preparing additional equipment, and swift water rescue personnel are on standby. The Missouri National Guard has temporarily relocated the 139th Airlift Wing’s C-130s from Rosecrans Air National Guard Base in St. Joseph as a precaution. Ironic: when the East coast was threatened by hurricanes, it was common practice to “Hurri-vac” our birds to Offutt AFB, as it is so far inland to escape the threat. Be nice to reciprocate, but I haven’t seen any Rivet Joint birds here. Not a nice enough golf course, I suppose.
Hat tip to Poetrooper for the link. Thanks!
Category: Air Force, Blue Skies, Guest Link, Military issues
The year we moved to Offutt, the Missouri flooded for months. The weekend my husband got discharged, a microburst sent one of the planes through a brick wall while it was in the hangar. Of course, there were all the storms and tornadoes too….
I remember those days in the early ’80’s at Offutt. Luckily Capehart housing was on a hill and we had a basement for the tornados.
How much did the dam break on the Niobrara River add to this? I watched the drone video of the “after the break”, and it was appalling just by itself.
Also makes me glad I live up the hill from the nearest river, which is over its banks (again) with meltwater.
Gonna be an interesting spring and summer.
With the mad dogs all over “Trump did this thing or another,” not a thing about the floods on TV news.
Better start stacking sandbags around those grounded aircraft. Either that or park them up on blocks.
Here in the SoCal mountains, the streams are flowing at levels I haven’t seen since I was a kid. Creeks that have been dry for a decade or more are flowing steadily. Our predictive services are expecting a wet spring, too. Fire season will likely still suck, since there’s still plenty of dead shit out there that’s now inundated with grass that will carry fire right into it.
According to the report I saw, the Sierras have up to 50++ FEET of snow in places.
This should bode well for the water supply lower down, shouldn’t it?
We’ve got some flooding here, too, which did not surprise me, but the question is how long will it take before it all drops a bit?
The Sierras received their yearly average snowfall in the second week of January, then it kept on snowing. Don’t worry, though. Gavin Newsom will find a way to waste it somehow.
I’m sure that he’ll have it wasted in order to save the Three Finned Farting Smeltfish or some other stupid shit and then blame President Trump.
I see they called an end to Gov Moonbeam’s “permanent drought” too. They called it permanent like 2-3 years ago. And these are the people that think that predictions about global climate 100 years in the future are solid and scientific.
I too live in the SoCal mountains (San Bern) and have a creek flow right behind my house. While there’s water in it about half the year, it has gotten frightenly full this winter.
Lots and lots of dead fuel by July/August.
Joy of joys.
And lots of mudslides in the burn areas from last year.
How many roads in Malibu and elsewhere close every storm? I’m still surprised anyone still lives in LaConchita.
I was waiting for it.
The Charles is locally known as “Chuck”
I grew up in the Boston area (Malden) when that song was released. Yeah. That long ago. Thx for the reminder. Probably have it played at my funeral.
Scaldin Malden.
The Charles Street pool hall.
The Honey Fitz.
Joe and Nemos.
Joe’s smoke shop.
The Granada, The Strand movie theaters.
Friends Beans factory…….
Pine Banks Park.
Kappy’s!
I guess climate change wasn’t invented yet when they built it.
Thank God, or whatever, we have The AlGore.
Al Gore: 99.9 Percent of Scientists Agree with Me on Climate Change
CNN and AlGore are FOS Link
And CNN, too.
99.9% of all scientists also agree that Al Gore did not invent the Internet.
You’d think somebody who’s been so wrong, so many times would just shut up and stop talking. However, while CNN is willing to prop him up and help him make millions off this climate change cult, we’re stuck with him.
Really wish the Clintons, Gore, and the Obamas could learn to retire with dignity like presidents and vice presidents used to.
All of the non-flyers were towed to part of the flightline known as “Mike north” and “Mike south”. You can’t see it clearly, but the elevation of the base increases from east to west. To get to the main flightline area, you actually have to go downhill. All of the maintenance areas are under water now, according to the pictures.
The wife and I were just out there yesterday, doing our every two weeks commissary thing. Just to see where the water was, we drove almost all the way to the E-4 hangar before we were turned back by the SPs. Holy crap!! I’m glad I don’t work on that side of the base any more!!!
Used to fly outta there with the 2nd ACCS (Looking Glass). You take off going downhill from west to east, not a lot but some. Remember taking off into fog on one mission. Needed 6 lights as I remember. I was in the jump seat and I could only see 3. My buddy in the left seat could see 6 (three down one side of the runway and three on the other). Interesting flight.
When I was in the HQ (SAC days), I flew out on a NEACP bird once on a twelve hour trailing wire test mission. Plenty of room to walk around on that bird.
Not looking good for our folks out there. Bill W you and yours stay high and dry. Delta drove me out there in ’17 (Omaha). Drove across NE to Fort Robinson/Crawford and other points in the northeast state. Was on US 281, 20, and NE 12. Went over the bridge where the power company dam was. Drove out to NE City and several trips to Omaha in ’15. Air/Space Museum and Offutt were visited. When I left out of NE City swung south thru KS down 75 to avoid potential summer flooding, cut across southern MO thru AK to Memphis then katty corner back to Mid-GA.
Gonna be a mess and 1/2 to fix. Plenty of road/bridge building work be available for years. My folks are OK for now, just can’t go nowhere.
I wonder if they’ll rebuild that dam, someone posted a video a few years ago saying it was to chronicle the “deferred maintenance” of it. Highway and railroad bridges were washed out, so it’s going to take at least a few years!
You went all the way to Alaska (AK)??? Shoulda just come down through Arkansas (AR).
You Red Legs never did have any sense of distance or direction.
Heh…
Fat fumble finger Poe. Shoulda woulda coulda stopped by yo crib, ate up all your groceries, drank up any Class VI supplies and wallowed about for a few days. Likes the Ozark areas. Laid over in Jonesboro AR to avoid Memphis rush hour traffic.
If I can make one more drive out that way I want to swing further South and cross old man river between Memphis and Vicksburg.
We keep saying we need an edit button here. Proofread goldarnit, proofread.
API they gonna have to step lively on that railway and US 281. That’s some main north south line right there and I believe that Spenser lake was not only originally for flood control, but also municipal water/recreational lake. IIRC US 281 was once part of the Chisholm Trail out of TX & KS.
I live across the river in Council Bluffs. As long as the levee holds up, the wife and I will be OK. We do have the bug-out bag ready, just in case.
It is a pain trying to get out of this area heading north or south. I-29 is closed both ways from here, along with a lot of the back roads!
Holy Cow that is some major flooding – recruited there 92-96 office was on Galvin Road in Bellevue. Lived on base. Can’t believe the water is that high.. Stay safe.
As long as the golf course is O.K its still smooth flying for the Chair Force.
sarc
Chicopee’s Westover never floods and they used to have the B-52s here when i was a kid…got to see them taking off a few times while I was in the Boy Scouts back in the mid 60s…
Anytime you build something on a “flood” plain eventually you will learn why it’s called a flood plain.
They have F-15’s out of there now.
I was driving home from NYS when a flight of 4 took off and passed directly over the Mass Pike at <300'.
Talk about a major freedom boner.
They have the C5s at Westover also, and we replaced the A-10s with the F-15s at Barnes in Westfield Mass their runway is right next to the pike at exit 3….I miss the A-10s.
I remember flying the mighty P-3 Orion over to Dover AFB for pattern work. It was pretty sobering to join up with those aluminum clouds shaped like C-5s.
P-3 Orion. Isn’t that the Lockheed C-130 with the wings and motors mounted all catty whompassed? Asking for some other patriot.
gabn