MacDill Air Force Base had been evacuated, the gates locked, as Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida today, Sept. 28.
Other Air Force bases in Florida remained open but on a heightened state of alert, with aircraft evacuated from several installations out of caution.
MacDill, which lies directly next to Tampa Bay, could face flooding and damage as a result of storm surge, heavy rains, and intense winds. Officials announced a mandatory evacuation of the base by noon Sept. 27 and flew the base’s fleet of KC-135 tankers to bases in Washington state and Maine.
In a video posted to Facebook on shortly after 4 p.m. Sept. 28, Col. Adam D. Bingham, commander of the 6th Air Refueling Wing, offered an update from Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where the 6th ARW has established a continuity of operations site.
“As the rains pick up and the winds intensify, we’re likely to see the worst of the storm in the coming hours,” Bingham said. “Continue to be safe with your family and your loved ones until you here directly from us and your supervisor about when it might be safe to return to your homes.”
The trajectory of Hurricane Ian, which nearly reached Category 5 status the morning of Sept. 28, had shifted so that the Tampa region was no longer expected to be hit directly. But Tampa mayor Jane Castor warned that the city could see “unprecedented flooding.”
MacDill was at Hurricane Condition Level 1 as of the afternoon of Sept. 28, meaning destructive winds in excess of 58 miles per hour were expected in the next 12 hours. Personnel were instructed to shelter in place, as it was too late to evacuate.
Elsewhere across Florida, Tyndall Air Force Base is at HURCON 4, meaning destructive winds could arrive within 72 hours, while Eglin Air Force Base is at HURCON 5, meaning such winds are possible within 72 hours. At 5 p.m. Eastern time, Hurlburt Field exited HURCON 5, with strong winds no longer in the forecast.
Meanwhile, Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station were at HURCON 1 and had closed all non-essential base facilities, Space Launch Delta 45 announced.
On social media, the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin announced that it had evacuated 25 F-35 fighters to Barksdale Air Force Base, La. An Air Force spokesperson previously told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the base would also move F-22s and T-38s to separate locations.
Meanwhile, personnel from the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Fla., had evacuated all their operational aircraft “out of an abundance of caution,” Col. Allison Black, 1st SOW commander, said in a Facebook post.
Hurlburt hosts a wide variety of Air Force Special Operations aircraft, including CV-22s, AC-130J gunships, MQ-9 drones, U-28As, and MC-130Hs.
In a briefing Sept. 27, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder said the Florida National Guard had called 3,200 troops onto Active state duty, with another 1,800 on standby.
Neighboring states were prepared to activate 2,000 more troops, Ryder said, and Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., Moody Air Force Base, Ga., and Warner-Robins Air Force Base, Ga., had all been identified as incident support bases and federal staging areas if needed.