[CPEO-MEF] CLIMATE: "The U.S. military is terrified of climate change. It's done more damage than Iranian missiles." - focus on Tyndall AFB (FL)

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

The U.S. military is terrified of climate change. It's done more damage than Iranian missiles.
Among the Pentagon's fears is that weather-related catastrophes could mean it has to commit most of its resources to disaster relief missions.


By Sébastien Roblin
NBC News Think
September 20, 2020

In a few hours of extraordinary violence on Oct. 10, 2018, Tyndall Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle was utterly devastated, with 95 percent of its buildings severely damaged or destroyed. At that time, Tyndall served as the home base for nearly one-third of the Air Force’s fleet of ultra-valuable F-22 Raptor stealth fighters. Seventeen of the irreplaceable aircraft had been crammed into a hanger in advance of the tide of destruction - only for chunks of the hangar’s roof to collapse on top of them.

The dangers include flooding, fires and storm damage to its military bases a la Tyndall, but also degrading the effectiveness of forces in the field.
For several days, it seemed like the Air Force had lost about 10 percent of its deadliest fighter aircraft in one fell swoop, though by good fortune, the Raptors all reportedly proved repairable. The Air Force is still footing a staggering $5 billion bill to rebuild Tyndall and another base and move F-22 operations elsewhere.

…

The destruction at Tyndall was worse in terms of material losses than anything the U.S. military has experienced from missile attacks in the Middle East. So while the Pentagon makes plans for possible wars with foreign adversaries, it has concluded since 2010 that it also must reckon with the certainty of climate change.

…

For the entire story, see
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/u-s-military-terrified-climate-change-it-s-done-more-ncna1240484

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel@cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org





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