U.S. Military Adapts to Volcano Ash Cloud

The volcanic eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano and the ash cloud it created disrupted air traffic across Europe. The eruption began on April 14, 2010 and by April 16 air travel in the British Isles, Scandinavia and other nearby nations was halted. This shut down also affected the air operations of the United States military.

I was able to interview U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Randy Kee, Vice Commander, 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center, stationed at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., along with other bloggers about these effects. He spoke to us at length about the disruptions and the ways that the military has adapted.

General Kee is an officer in the Air Mobility Command, headquartered at Scott AFB. It is their duty to arrange and coordinate all military and civilian air traffic moving people and freight around the globe for the United States military.

Kee described to us the events at AMC after the eruption. The staff began to prepare contingency plans in the event that air traffic was affected by the volcano. Within a few hours, the decision was made to implement one of those plans.

Airfields in England and Germany are integral to the supply and medical evacuation needs of both the Iraqi and Afghan theaters of operation. The ash cloud from Iceland would soon render those airfields useless. Acting quickly, the General told us, planes, air crews and other personnel were flown out of Germany to available bases in Spain, Naval Air Station Rota and Morón Air Base. This proactive movement prevented a number of aircraft and crews from being stranded at closed airfields.

The large hospital at Balad, Iraq, has been turned into an aggregation center for wounded troops, similar to what Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany was doing before the ash cloud closed German airspace. From Balad, wounded are being transported to Rota, and from there to Washington, D.C. (Walter Reed hospital) or San Antonio, Texas (Brooks Army Medical Center).

General Kee provided some statistics. Four missions carrying 57 wounded have flown through Rota. In Rota they were refueled and a fresh flight crew provided for the remainder of the trip. One flight from Balad flew directly to Andrews AFB in Washington, with two mid-air refuelings en route.

228 missions have been rerouted through southern Europe so far and another 160 are currently planned. 23,268 personnel have flown using this route, and about 7,000 short tons of freight have been shipped. That amounts to about 175 semis full of materials.

Kee told us that the changes have added an average 17 hours delay to the process. No personnel are currently stranded because of the air space closures and only three plane loads of freight.

The General was able to provide some numbers on personnel moving in and out of the two theaters. Around 6,700 troops deploying or pre-deploying have been delayed. 6,400 troops going on R&R leaves have been delayed.

The ash cloud is being assessed daily by the Air Mobility Command. When the staff determines that the ash cloud from the volcano is no longer moving across northwestern Europe, the General told us that it would be two or three days before the German airbases would be back fully supporting medical evacuation and other military movements. They will be more cautious than the civilian aviation authorities to avoid having to make a move to Spain again within a few days.