.. did this bill die in the committee s? The Wurtsmith Air Force Incident. The tire bead failed, allowing the casing to slip over the rim on one side and bind on edge of the wheel fairing on takeoff. [1], The northern tier Strategic Air Command Ready Alert Strike Force bases were considered less than desirable duty stations for one main reason. The base was put into a standby status to be there just in case something happened in those areas. Anyone know the status on this? There were also problems with the complex nose-mounted reduction gear, which caused reliability problems and resulted in fairly low serviceability rates as compared with other fighters. Our History - Wurtsmith Air Museum http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/04/wurtsmith_pfas_pfc_april_45_me.html. It is one of the most famous bases located in our state. Veteran Compensation Programs (veteranprograms.com) assumes NO liability, and expressly disclaims any and all responsibility, for the content of all posts, surveys, topics, comments, blogs or responses. The gunnery range was tasked with training pilots from, Selfridge air base in the challenging maneuvers required to land a DeHavilland, biplane on the frozen lake Van Etten for the young Army Air Corps. The EPA Superfund Contaminants of Concern Update of June 3, 2016 lists all the same contaminants listed in 38-3307(7)(i) as it relates to USMC Camp Lejeune water contaminants. There is an ongoing project to decontaminate the area. Representatives Dan Kildee (MI-05) and Elissa Slotkin (MI-08) today urged the U.S. Air Force to take more significant steps to address PFAS contamination around the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base near Oscoda. Because of the restriction of being close to the Christmas tree theyresorted to playing cards, working out, reading, and sleeping while they werenot conducting recurrent training to stay up to date and proficient on theirequipment. The Au Sable River is an attraction for families all around Michigan. It excelled in low-altitude ground support as a well-built and reliable aircraft capable of absorbing quite a bit of battle damage. [1] Wurtsmith Air Force Base was 2nd Lt. Nortons firstpermanent duty station in the United States Air Force.[1]. The site of Wurtsmith Air Force Base is located 2 miles Northwest of Oscoda, Michigan, about 150 miles North of Detroit. [1] This was followed by one and a half weeks of normal day to day activitiesuntil the flight crew relieved crew on ready alert in the bunkers.[1]. to the proper paperwork being completed to allow the missions to continue. One of these men were named Lt. Ennis Whitehead. Mr. Norton would occasionally return to fresh fish left by his neighbor on his porch. The popular legend, supported by interviews and other historical documents, is that Wurtsmith was established as the direct result of a fishing trip by Lt. Ennis Whitehead (later Lt. Gen. Whitehead, commander of the Fifth and Far Eastern Air Forces during and after World War . Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan Redevelopment Profile [5] One crew flew 29mission out of Jeddah, setting the record for most missions flew by a bombercrew in theater. [2] The flight crashed at 2:20PM while returning from K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base in the Upper Peninsula. On June 30th, 1993 the 379th Bomb Wing was disbanded and Wurtsmith Air Force Base was closed. [1] This would result in a large amount of paperwork and extra expenses for the Air Force. But these days, the county is becoming a haven for retired people such as the Kuhlmans . [5] While the 379th, Bomb Wing was stationed at Wurtsmith Air Force Base they were part of the Ready, Alert Nuclear Strike Force. Many of drums ruptured. All kind of special chemicals that Boeing told the USAF we had to have. Wurtsmith Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force base that was closed by the 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC 2) and is a proposed EPA Superfund site. It still haunts me today that we had to do that and were told to just follow orders. The Air Force knew that due to the method used to apply the pesticide, the building design flaw, that a completed exposure pathway (CEP) existed at a large percentage of its tenantable/habitual . [4] Over the tenure of the base it was home to an aerial gunnery range, a fighter-interceptor training base and later home to the 379th Bomb Wing as a member of the Strategic Air Command.[4]. Since, 2010 sampling by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the U.S. Air Force has identified elevated levels of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) contamination in drinking water wells and some locally caught fish and deer. distance from the bunker. I served at Wursmith AFB from 1982 to 1989, living in base housing the entire time and drinking the water. As an officer Mr. Norton had to sit in on Court-Martials. Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Mich., served primarily as a combat crew and bomber training base throughout its 70-year history. We make no endorsements or recommendations of any VSO, attorney, law firm, claims specialists or organization working with veterans on their service-connected claim(s). The aquifer overlies a thick clay layer at an average depth of 65 feet. The Realignment of Griffiss Air Force Base - Spectrum News Environmental groups issue report, 'setting the record straight' about Prior to our IOC inspection for the SRAM we were ordered to clean out igloos full of barrels 5gal to 55gal drums,1,000s of gallons which had been ordered by mistake to start the system. The Loring Air Force Base UFO Encounter - UFO Insight The Air Force says, Any aircraft before 1961, weve abandoned it.. I have also read about the PFAS via fire retardant foam. Because of the economic impact of Wurtsmith Air Force Base the community was generally supportive of the airmen, and the base itself. The Airacobra reached its peak usage in the USAAF in early 1944, with over 2100 in service. All four of the the guys that were in that flight were from Tuskegee, Losinksi said. The last was delivered in December 1930. The Air Force's decline to commit to Michigan's standards is among a litany of frustrations Oscoda residents say they have . Assessment of ground-water contamination at Wurtsmith Air Force Base He flew from Dayton, Ohio to Washington, D.C. at a speed of approximately 266 mph, at an altitude of 25,000 ft. Wurtsmith Air, Force Base was constructed with a runway layout specifically for this. I was stationed there 1988-1992. The main mission of Oscoda Army Air Field, at the time, was to defend Sault Ste. Ruben C. Moffat flew a P-6 converted with a supercharged Conqueror engine on a record-breaking flight. [1] As soon as the wheels touched down the clock would be reset and they could be sent out on another assignment. Groundwater data collected in 1999 at Wurtsmith Air Force Base (Michigan), Tyndall Air Force Base (Florida) and Naval Air Station Fallon (Nevada), where PFC concentrations ranged from below detection limit to over 14,000 g/L, suggest that any military site where AFFFs have been used is likely to have a dissolved plume containing . If there's a main break, sections of the base will . These bases were, responsible for a housing a Ready Alert Nuclear Strike Force. Testing by the Air Force has found high levels of the toxic chemical PFOS in the foam near a plume coming from the former nuclear bomber base. The 4026th was a SAC Major Command controlled (MAJCON) wing that had been organized on 1 August 1958. At this time, the camp was renamed and the airfield was under III Fighter Command jurisdiction. As seenin the picture of the runways, there is a Christmas tree coming off of thebeginning of the runway with a building next to it. After all of that great history, the Wurtsmith Air Force Base is still standing as a place that is visited by a plethora of people. To gain a measure of the extremely high levels of contaminated drinking water, according to the ATSDR, TCE levels in a well at the corner of Arrow Street and N. Skeel Avenue were as high as 5,173 parts-per-billion (ppb) during 1977, 1978, & 1979 tests, which is more than 1,000 times the EPA's current limit of 5-ppb for TCE in drinking water. The KC-135s would finish one mission and there would be another one waiting for them as soon as they were available. With this long list of negative effects it is clearly a big health issue for local residents. At one point, they had to use these toxic foam chemicals to put out a fire at the Oscoda High School in 1995. Smoke started coming from the tail of the second plane, and I could see it was in trouble. This gave the Army operations the opportunity to begin creating the base we know today. Michigan Radio. At just after 10 pm on the 30 th October, on-duty personnel at Wurtsmith Air Force Base would report seeing a strange object hovering over the . U.S. Veterans of the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda from the 1970s, and their families who lived with them on the base, face increased risks of leukemia and other harmful effects from prolonged exposures to toxic volatile organic compounds that were in the now-shuttered base's water supply at the time, a federal health agency has found. [4] On August 1st 1958 the 4026th Strategic Wing was formed at Wurtsmith Air Force Base. Former military base a magnet for retirees - middletownpress.com It was the most horrible thing I have ever witnessed, she said. Visiting Wurtsmith Air Museum, Wurtsmith AFB, Michigan - YouTube As soon as an assignment went over 180 days it was considered a permanent change in duty station. [1] The KC-135s had many more opportunities to travel because they would fly in support of any craft capable of refueling in flight. 1st Combat Evaluation Group If you are interested in any particular aircraft of time period please let me know. There are many good photos of P-39s at Selfridge Field (Posted below), but none of P-39s at Oscoda. Nothing contained herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of a competent Veteran Service Officer (VSO)in good standing and licensed to practice in your jurisdiction. Powerplant: 1 Allison V-1710-85 liquid-cooled V-12, 1,200 hp (895 kW), Maximum speed: 376 mph (605 km/h) (Redline dive speed was 525 mph), Range: 525 miles on internal fuel (840 km). My symptoms looking back were insidious with weakness and muscle fasciculations. Wurtsmith AFB has a better paper trail showing irrefutable evidence of contamination of the base drinking water with Trichloroethelene (TCE) first discovered in 1977 as a result of a complaint from a base housing resident. They want the site to remain a memorial divers can visit. It was also possible for these missions to originate in the United States. [1], As new technologies and mission goals evolved with time the need for the Strategic Air Commands need for the northern tier became obsolete. It remained named Camp Skeel until 1942 when it was renamed Oscoda Army Air Field (WAFB.net). Weve done quite a bit of documenting and measuring, David Losinski said. As Michigan makes PFAS strides, Oscoda residents say Air Force is We thought that was kind of unbelievable.. According to the Air Force's account, in October 1977, a Wurtsmith base housing resident complained about a peculiar odor and taste in the drinking water. There were frequently extremely large and loud airplanes taxiing, taking off, and landing in the base. 70-77 lived on base housing with family, flight line assistant supervisor. On June 30, , 1993 the 379th Bomb Wing was disbanded and Wurtsmith Air Force Base was closed. The majority of married enlisted and officers preferred to live on base because of the free daycare for children. [5] The 379th Bomb Wing immediately continued the 4026thStrategic Wing operations and training. The base was first named after Capt. My daughter was born there on base in 1987 she has gastric issues, and was born w heart issues. PFOA exposure is also shown to be associated with increased risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children between ages 12-15. When the Gulf War started in 1990, the 379, Bomber Wing sent B-52s as well as their accompanying KC-135s into the Middle East. We knew we had some kind of plane.. One example of this is autocross racing. This meant that Wurtsmith Air Force Base was essentially a self-contained airport with all of the necessities to support a full community on Base. There were four planes, and I was watching them from our front window, as I usually do when theyre engaged in gunnery practice. For the civil use of this facility and airport information, see Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport Wurtsmith Air Force Base is a decommissioned United States Air Force base in northeastern Iosco County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The Wurtsmith Air Force Base, created in 1923, played a large role in WWII. [1] As tensions increased around the world and the likelihood of an actual mission being flown while on ready alert increased, the weekbecame more stressful. After one week in the bunker on ready alert the flight crew would be relieved. I worked on the flight line. [5], Dave Norton resigned his commotion as a United States Air ForceCaptain on May 30th, 1993 exactly 9 years after receiving his commissionas a 2nd Lt. form the United States Air Force Academy.
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