Thursday, September 13, 2001
Dyess Air Force Base deploys
C-130s
By Sidney Schuhmann
Reporter-News Staff Writer
Two C-130 transport planes left Dyess Air
Force Base on Wednesday to support missions related to the terrorist
attacks on New York and Washington, D.C.
One of the planes left in the early morning
for a White House mission. Dyess C-130s routinely haul Secret
Service agents and limousines for the president.
The second C-130 departed in the afternoon
to perform a humanitarian mission somewhere in the United States.
Capt. David Honchul, Dyess’ chief of public affairs, declined
to give details about either mission.
The remaining 28 transport planes at Dyess
are ready to mobilize and C-130 air crews have moved on base temporarily,
Honchul said.
Military aircraft are probably the only
planes flying because the Federal Aviation Administration grounded
all commercial flights after the attacks on the World Trade Center
in New York and the Pentagon in Virginia.
Dyess B-1 bombers and C-130s did not perform
training missions Wednesday, Honchul said. Instead, airmen performed
maintenance on the planes.
Wednesday afternoon, the base downgraded
its threat condition from the highest potential threat, “delta,”
to the second-highest, “charlie.” U.S. military installations
around the world were put on the highest security alert Tuesday
after the attacks.
Recreational facilities on base such as
the golf course and bowling alley were closed.
“We are trying to conduct as much business
as possible while taking into consideration our state of readiness,”
Honchul said. “Job one, right now, is security of the base,
its equipment and people.”
Although Honchul said anyone with valid
military identification can enter Dyess, only people who have
essential business on base are allowed in. One example is retirees
who need prescriptions refilled.
Few medical appointments were scheduled
at the Dyess clinic this week because of a training exercise that
was canceled after the attacks.
Concrete barriers were erected Tuesday as
a safety precaution on the east side of the base at the Arnold
Boulevard entrance and on the north side at the Military Drive
entrance.
Traffic was so congested Wednesday morning
that cars trying to enter the base were backed up to U.S. Highway
277. To alleviate congestion, base officials are asking people
who don’t work on base to avoid entering Dyess during peak
traffic hours, essentially before 8 a.m.
The base is also staggering the times when
personnel must report in the morning. The times are in effect
until further notice, Honchul said.
Operations and airlift group personnel need
to report at 5:30 a.m.; logistics group personnel at 6:15 a.m.;
support group and medical group by 7 a.m.; and wing staff agencies
by 8 a.m.
Contact military writer Sidney Schuhmann
at 676-6721 or schuhmanns@abinews.com
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©2001, Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps.
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