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Hurricane Dennis Visits NAS Whiting Field

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS050716-01
Release Date: 7/16/2005 6:44:00 AM

By Patrick Nichols, Naval Air Station Pensacola Public Affairs

NAVAL AIR STATION PENSACOLA, Fla. (NNS) -- The presence of Hurricane Dennis resulted in a brief evacuation and delay in training for Naval Air Station Whiting Field (NASWF) July 9-11.

As Hurricane Dennis loomed closer to the Florida Panhandle July 9, the command of NASWF was tasked to completely evacuate two airports, a college campus, a medical center, and a shopping mall in a two-day period.

Capt. Joan Platz, commanding officer, NASWF ordered the base be secured down to about 20 people. This included herself, the executive officer, public works officer, command chaplain, several security personnel and firefighters, and a handful of Sailors and Marines to handle emergencies that may arise.

More than 200 fixed and rotary wing aircraft departed the base in less than four hours in a well coordinated departure. Aircraft from Training Air Wing 5 flew to bases throughout the country. Making the best of a bad situation, the wing turned these evacuation flights into student cross-country training.

“We had a plan, stuck to that plan and it worked perfectly," said Paltz. "Having encountered Hurricane Ivan just 10 months ago enabled us to apply our lessons learned and put together a concise, well-developed evacuation and EOC (emergency operations center) implementation strategy.”

Immediately after the storm passed, the Emergency Operations Team assessed the situation and implemented a course of action.

“My priority is the people; ensuring they have a safe place to work, and the medical, berthing and dining facilities to support their needs,” said Platz.

Within hours after Hurricane Dennis pummeled the area, NASWF had mustered essential personnel and commenced clean-up procedures to get the base back up and running. Initial assessments revealed damage to numerous facilities and structures.

Less than 60 hours after Dennis made landfall, NASWF welcomed Training Air Wing 5 aircraft back home.

“Dennis put our mission of training the world’s finest naval aviators on hold for a few days, but we’re back on line and ready to meet the challenges before us,” said Platz.