OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- The Missouri River floodwater surging on to the air base housing the U.S. military's Strategic Command overwhelmed round-the-clock sandbagging by airmen and others. They had to scramble to save sensitive equipment, munitions and dozens of aircraft.
It is also a reminder that the kind of weather extremes escalating with climate change aren't limited to the coasts, said retired Rear Adm. David W. Titley, founder of both the Navy's Task Force on Climate Change and the Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk at Penn State University. The military has warned in a series of reports under past administrations that climate change is a security threat on many fronts. That includes"through direct impacts on U.S. military infrastructure and by affecting factors, including food and water availability, that can exacerbate conflict outside U.S. borders," the federal government's grim climate report said last year.
Department of Defense spokeswoman Heather Babb said the department"works to ensure installations and infrastructure are resilient to a wide range of challenges, including climate." Military bases are launch platforms and you"can't fight a war unless you've got a place to leave from," said Galloway, a member of the Center for Climate and Security's advisory board.
Sandbagging had held back 2011 floods at the base. The flooding that poured in starting March 15 was worse, Norton, the base's support group commander, said.
It’s called rain and snow melt
We've always had floods......