Credit: Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Alexa H. Trafton
As category 5 Hurricane Milton churns towards Florida, several military installations are in or close to the direct path of the destructive hurricane.
The Defense Department’s foremost concern is, of course, the safety of its personnel and their families. To this end the military has taken action to protect them from any possible harm by closing installations across Florida ahead of Milton’s arrival.
MacDill Air Force Base, a major military hub in the Tampa Bay area is the headquarters to both the U.S. Central Command’s and the U.S. Special Operations Command’ and home base to the 6th and 927th air refueling wings (KC-135 Stratotankers). It was closed to all non-essential personnel on Tuesday and personnel have been directed to follow local evacuation orders. The vast majority of base services, schools and other resources were also scheduled to close on Tuesday.
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While the safety of military personnel and their families is a top priority, the military is also fully prepared to protect its facilities, aircraft and ships.
MacDill Air Force Base evacuated 12 of its KC-135 refueling aircraft to McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas.
The 482nd Fighter Wing at Homestead Air Reserve Base in the Miami area relocated seven of its F-16s to San Antonio, Texas.
Tenant units at Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Florida’s east coast have moved aircraft assets out of the local area.
The U.S. Navy in Florida is also battering down the hatches in preparation for Milton.
On Monday, Rear Adm. John Hewitt, commander, Navy Region Southeast, instructed all naval installations in Florida to set Hurricane Condition of Readiness Three in preparation for Milton.
Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, on the Atlantic and close to the border with Georgia, has been ordered to close.
Three Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers at Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville on Florida’s northeastern coast — the USS Donald Cook, the USS Thomas Hudner and the USS Lassen have been sent to sea out of Milton’s way.
Other ships at Naval Station Mayport, including the destroyer USS Delbert D. Black, were anchored in “heavy weather mooring positions.” Its Aircraft will also be evacuated or hangered at the base.
The Stars and Stripes reports that “dozens of hospitals and outpatient clinics run by the Department of Veterans Affairs in cities along Florida’s Gulf Coast are shuttering buildings, canceling appointments and moving in-person visits to virtual exams as Hurricane Milton is forecast to strike the Tampa Bay area by late Wednesday.”
