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Because of the potential impact Hurricane Dorian could bring to Hampton Roads, Col. David Lopez, 1st Fighter Wing Commander, ordered Langley Air Force Base F-22 Raptor and T-38 Talon aircraft to evacuate to Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, Ohio on Tuesday.
“As a precautionary measure, we are relocating our F-22s and T-38s to a location outside of Dorian’s projected path,” said Lopez. “We are coordinating with our Team Langley Mission Partners to send the appropriate aircrew, maintenance, and support personnel in order to ensure the safety and security of our aircraft. We will begin evacuating our jets today; all aircraft are scheduled to arrive at the restaging location by Wednesday afternoon.”
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While the 1st Fighter Wing got ready to move aircraft, the 633rd Air Base Wing commander was leading the overall effort to get Joint Base Langley-Eustis ready for Hurricane Dorian.
“We have been preparing throughout the holiday weekend with our partner agencies to help mitigate the effects of Hurricane Dorian on JBLE,” said Col. Clinton A. Ross. “Our mission is to provide support for the operational units assigned here, which includes the fighter and intelligence wings at Langley, and multiple brigades at Ft Eustis. Our civil engineer and emergency management teams are already executing protective measures to secure our infrastructure from the approaching storm. Thank you for your patience as we continue to monitor the storm to make the best decisions possible in the coming days.”