Advertisement

Aerial tankers headed to Tampa airport during MacDill repaving

 
Up to four KC-135 Stratotanker refueling jets, pictured above, will be moved from MacDill to Tampa International Airport. Two of the base’s transport planes will also be parked at TIA.  
Up to four KC-135 Stratotanker refueling jets, pictured above, will be moved from MacDill to Tampa International Airport. Two of the base’s transport planes will also be parked at TIA. 
Published Aug. 12, 2016

When we first reported the pending closure of the 11,421-foot runway at MacDill Air Force Base for two months to allow much-needed resurfacing, it was unclear just where the aircraft stationed there would go.

Now, with the October start nearing, those plans are in place, according to Terry Montrose, a spokesman for the 6th Air Mobility Wing, the MacDill host unit.

As many as four of MacDill's 16 KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling jets will move over to Tampa International Airport, according to Montrose. And two of MacDill's three C-37 twin-engine jet transport planes will park there as well for the duration of the two-month project.

Those moves won't force any airmen to relocate, said Montrose, because most of the training flights will operate from TIA, allowing crews to remain at home.

As many as five more KC-135s will temporarily move to Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina. And that will mean some folks will face temporary relocation.

Each of the 16 tankers, shared by the 6th Air Mobility Wing and the 927th Air Refueling Wing, have a crew of three to four, with several additional airmen needed to maintain the jets. The planes first rolled off the assembly lines when Dwight Eisenhower was in the White House.

The remaining seven tankers will be deployed around the globe, said Montrose. Tankers from MacDill have been used to refuel aircraft in operations over Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere.

The moves won't affect operations, Montrose said.

"MacDill airmen pride themselves on being able to execute the mission effectively from anywhere, anytime, and from any place," Montrose said. "We put the global in global reach."

The jets will move to Tampa International on Oct. 17, said Christine Osborn, an airport spokeswoman. MacDill's runway is scheduled to close Oct. 20 through Dec. 20, Osborn said.

Moving the aircraft to Tampa International won't have any significant impact on Air Force operations or any other operations at the airport, Osborn said.

The planes will be operating out of the airport's southeast corner.

"There will be no additional restrictions on flights," she said. "They will be using the same tower frequencies, the same flight patterns and the same procedures they did at MacDill."

The resurfacing, which usually takes place about every 15 years, will cost $8.1 million, said Capt. Jessica Brown, spokeswoman for the 6th Air Mobility Wing. That money will come from the Air Force headquarters budget, not MacDill's, she said.

Osborn said that with about 475 flights there each day, the impact of hosting MacDill's jets "will be minimal in the grand scheme of things."

But there might be one noticeable change.

Keep up with Tampa Bay’s top headlines

Subscribe to our free DayStarter newsletter

We’ll deliver the latest news and information you need to know every weekday morning.

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

"We think we might have some plane spotters out there," Osborn said. "They love seeing them."

• • •

The Pentagon last week announced the death of an airman who was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the fight against the Islamic State.

Lt. Col. Flando E. Jackson, 45, of Lansing, Mich., died Aug. 4 in southwest Asia from a non-combat-related injury. The incident is under investigation.

Jackson was assigned to the 194th Wing, Camp Murray, Washington National Guard, Washington.

There have been 2,347 U.S. troop deaths in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan; 21 U.S. troop deaths and one civilian Department of Defense employee death in support of the follow-up, Operation Freedom's Sentinel in Afghanistan; and 18 troop deaths and one civilian death in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.

Contact Howard Altman at haltman@tampabaytimes.com or (813) 225-3112. Follow @haltman