F-15E Strike Eagles to be evacuated
By Kenneth Fine
Published in News on September 3, 2008 1:45 PM
By Thursday evening, the 4th Fighter Wing's fleet of F-15E Strike Eagles will no longer grace the flight line at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base -- for a few days, anyway.
Wing officials confirmed this morning that an evacuation of the aircraft would begin Thursday, hours before Tropical Storm Hanna is expected to make landfall.
Approximately 80 Strike Eagles and three KC-135R Stratotankers are currently being prepared for their evacuation to Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
But the aircraft are not the only assets wing officials hope to keep safe during the storm.
Officials are also telling base personnel to prepare for hurricane-like conditions -- high winds, possible flooding and tornadoes.
For more coverage of the F-15E evacuation, see Thursday's News-Argus.