Posted on 03/20/2019 6:54:48 AM PDT by Enlightened1
Yep - the Mississippi is very high right now - spillways south of Baton Rouge are open and the radio masts of passing freighters on the river still look way too close to the New Orleans area bridges.
Holy sh!t!!!!
Oh, please, just NO.
Why do you need to double-down on your stupidity?
NO sir, they did not know this would happen based on areal photography. They built the fort before human flight and photography from the air.
All kinds of places flood or can flood in the United States.
You are NOT smarter than the people who build in these various places, Jack.
Your opinion of better men is asinine.
Thoughts and prayers for our friends in the heartland.
This story hasn’t been given the news coverage it deserves.
Maybe they need to turn it into a Navy base?
I’m sure Navy pilots are laughing at AF guys and the upper photo of the runway partially under water.
I’ve worked on both AF runways and Navy runways. From my observations if you have a 10,000 foot runway the AF pilots are going to use every inch for take offs/landings. The Navy pilots will use 1,000 feet of an 8,500 foot runway to take off, and land in the same 1,000 feet, but they don’t have arresting cables so they will roll out another 2-3000 feet before taxiing off. All day, every day. I found that to be quite interesting.
Although I did see a Galaxy C5-B land at Klamath Falls airport (10,400ft) and touch down at the 4,000 foot marker and turn out on the end taxiway at 9,000 feet. The F-15 pilots acted like spoiled children when I had to close (displace) 2,000 feet of one end. 4 of them lined up across the runway, throttled up and rolled our sandbags off the runway. And when they landed they skimmed over that same 2,000 feet which had several large excavators working on it.
I guess when they landed the Civilian Airport Manager had a meeting with the AF Commander and the 4 pilots. I heard it was much like the scene from TOP GUN where Maverick got is ass chewed for his flyby.
“All kinds of places flood or can flood in the United States.”
I ABSOLUTELY agree and there is no cause for continuing to be indignant and insult me with derogatory terms. You have tried this bait on me before and I see the hook and I’m not biting.
I also see what happened here. In your haste to “assume” I was “doubting the intelligence of military engineers”, you failed to consider that I might actually make this same deduction about EVERYONE EVERYWHERE, including once myself who was dumb enough to “camp in a wash” or below the ALWAYS VISIBLE even at ground level high water line.
I was not singling out these engineers or just this particular case and location. I respect your devotion and defense of these “better men who could never make a mistake” Ooh Rah! But no need... It was not aimed at them directly so you can relax and come to rest. :)
PING
Dramatic Photos Show Offutt Air Force Base Engulfed By Floodwaters
Sterling Hayden was fantastic.
Yep, that’s an E-4. Cool.
Ping
True, it is a flood plain from the river up to the Iowa loess hills on the east. On the west side with the steps taken over the years, the flooding on the Offutt side has been minimal, none most years. In 2011 it got close and closed off the base lake and some outer areas next to the river but never like this. The base has been there since the 1800s, the airfield since the 20s-30s, the current runways and newer buildings from the late 40s, 50s up through the 90s. The point is, this flooding on the base and the civilian houses and businesses along the base lake road the way it is today is a first.
The area along the river is only a small slice of the flood plain. The actual flood plain stretches from the bank on the Nebraska up to several miles east across Iowa to the loess hills. At various time before the river was banked and dredged the river flowed over various parts of a 3 mile wide stretch. I can see the Iowa side flood plain from my front porch.
I understand. It was the rare proverbial “100 year flood”. The problem with a 100 year flood is that it actually happens every 40-50 years and the question is not “if it will happen” but “when is it going to happen again”. Sooner or later It will indeed happen and this needs to be taken into account as inevitable when planning. Not just here, but anywhere there is a flood plain. Same with building on hillsides prone to mud slides. The odds are pretty high that sooner or later you might slide.
That second picture is looking down on the parking lot I usually park in. The whole east side of the base is trashed. USSTRATCOM was on minimal manning for only two days. We’ve been running an exercise nonstop the entire time, too. We started full operations again on Tuesday.
USSTRATCOM HQ isn’t that discrete. You can easily find it on Google Maps.
Awful they better do something for these great Americans ASAP!
True dat— the new one is right by the highway, and in all the omaha papers. That being said, well won’t say what else is there in re: truly hardened locations in connex with. EMP and such. always good to “decentralize” which we learned even with post 9-11 stock exchange server centers.
As a passing thought in ref to secure locations: the people who learned how to “game” the time delay of stock trade signals across the river into NJ server center, and make trades in between the seconds that took. It is a fascinating story, true one. and to fight that happening- more decentralizing and better layered secrets.
I work there. I have an idea.
Great. Remember— “Loose Lips.... etc. from WWII? No sense informing the opposition. Thank you for your Service.
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