Keeping ahead of Hurricane Matthew

Photo By Staff Sgt. Kelsey Owen | An F-16CM Fighting Falcon assigned to the 20th Fighter Wing takes off from Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., Oct. 6, 2016. The F-16s were evacuated to avoid any damage that could have been caused by Hurricane Matthew. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Kelsey Tucker)  

SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, SC, UNITED STATES

10.11.2016

Story by Airman 1st Class Kelsey Owen  

20th Fighter Wing

The whole country watched with bated breath as the threat of Hurricane Matthew loomed ever closer.

U.S. military bases all along the East Coast, including Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, weighed their options and prepared to act.

“That can range from doing nothing but battening down the hatches and putting sandbags in places to an evacuation of the aircraft, to potentially even a mandatory evacuation of all personnel in the area,” said Lt. Col. Michael Horlbeck, 20th Operations Group deputy commander.

Luckily for the 20th Fighter Wing, on Oct. 6 the evacuation was only ordered for 48 of Shaw’s F-16CM Fighting Falcons, and the 58 maintenance personnel who accompanied the jets via bus to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, said Senior Master Sergeant Micah Gardner, 20th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron lead production superintendent. Once there, the personnel who arrived by bus were almost immediately put to work, setting up to receive their landing aircraft.

All 58 of those people were tasked to go and protect nearly 50 aircraft – about 1.9 billion dollars of assets, said Horlbeck. Some of the major concerns they had during the evacuation were foreign object debris – due to the F-16’s low intake – and finding lodging and transportation for the 114 pilots and maintainers who arrived with the jets.

All of the jets landed safely at Barksdale, where they waited out the storm until they returned on Oct. 9. The 58 maintenance personnel soon followed them by bus, returning to Shaw the morning of Oct. 11.

There are times when Shaw AFB is going to be host to people seeking refuge, just as Barksdale was, said Horlbeck. Eventually Shaw will take on that role, with the capability and capacity to help people in need, which is critical in times like these.

• Date Taken: 10.11.2016
• Date Posted: 10.13.2016 16:29
• Story ID: 211942
• Location: SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, SC, US