Fresh Take Florida
MacDill Air Force Base, located four miles from downtown Tampa, is projected to experience over six feet of storm surge due to Hurricane Milton.
Teams placed sandbags and elevated equipment to mitigate water damage, base spokesperson Kaity Butler said. Recent hurricane preparations, she said, have caused minimal disruptions to the Air Force base’s missions.
“Being based in the state of Florida, this is something we prepare for and practice for,” Butler said.
For the second time in two weeks, aircrafts were moved to McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas to continue conducting their global missions, she said.
MacDill houses the U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, parts of Africa, Central Asia and parts of South Asia. It also houses the U.S. Special Operations Command, which oversees all special operations, such as the killing of Osama bin Laden and capture of Saddam Hussein.
Butler said about 190 security forces are on standby at Raymond James Stadium and will secure the base and assess damages once it’s safe to return. Then, she said, civil engineers will begin restoring functionality to the base.
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This story was produced by Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. The reporter can be reached at [email protected]. You can donate to support our students here.
