wurtsmith air force base housing

Drinking Water At Wurtsmith AFB Contaminted. We didnt know really what we had.. The Losinskis are divers David has been diving since 1977; his son, Drew, since 2002 and both are former members of the St. Clair County Dive Team. The single enlisted airmen who lived on base were housed in barracks. These planes arrived at dawn on the first day of the Gulf War. Although in the past the Wurtsmith Air Force Base was extremely successful there are some prevalent issues with it today. Since its establishment in 1923, Wurtsmith played an important role in World War II, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War, hosting the 134th Army Air Force Base Fighter Unit and 379th Bombardment Wing respectively. . Learn how your comment data is processed. One specific and important waterway being affected by these pollutants is the Au Sable River. Aircraft was at Camp Skeel, Oscoda Michigan for Aerial Gunnery training. In March of 1943, the Third Air Force reactivated the field for training of black aviators. Bert E. Skeel was a WWI pilot who died in an air race in Ohio. Today, the Wurtsmith Air Force Base has a museum where you can learn about its history. Senators Gary Peters (MI) and Debbie Stabenow (MI) and U.S. . People who are exposed every day for an extended period of time are the ones who start to see real problems, some of which I mentioned above. Welcome to The WAFB Historical Site dedicated to preserving the history and heritage of Wurtsmith Air Force Base and the units assigned there. The former Wurtsmith Air Force Base (WAFB), located in Oscoda, Iosco County, MI operated from 1924 to 1993. [1], When the Gulf War started in 1990, the 379th Bomber Wing sent B-52s as well as their accompanying KC-135s into the Middle East. What they had was a one-seat warplane piloted by 2nd Lt. Frank H. Moody, of Los Angeles. Michigan Radio. Military bases are known for significant staffing turnover. In their letter, the members expressed their concerns that the Air Force's proposed remediation plan . 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). After being relieved, the flight crew had until the following Monday morningoff. 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. If a banker had not taken Lt. Whitehead on a fishing trip there would not have been an Air Force Base in Oscoda Michigan. 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. USVCP Not A U.S. Government Publication. Published August 24, 2021 at 4:15 PM EDT. More than 40 private businesses and public agencies use the former Air Force facilities and infrastructure, providing more than 1,300 jobs to the area, as well as the conversion of former base housing to 700 privately owned residential homes. I have had many other health issues since and have recently found all of this. Having high amounts of this chemical directly underneath their high school could have serious long-term effects on the kids that attend school as well as the faculty. Robert Krouse, 12/31/19Stationed at Wurtsmith AFB from 1978 to 1980 and lived in barracks. This weapon system used some hazardous and a lot of special chemicals to support it. I was shocked when we drove to a wooded area not far from bomber alert pad and WSA up the road of the k9 area where a bull dozed had dug a large trench and we were ordered to dump the shit. The plane was equipped with the cannon and four .50-caliber machine guns two mounted on the wings, two more just behind the propeller and timed to fire through the spinning blades. David Losinski said he and his son were assisting the state Department of Environmental Quality with a barge that sank in Lake Huron in July 2012. I do hope there is information on Wurtsmith AFB soon. Section 107, the written material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed an interest in receiving the included information for educational purposes. She also has many other irregular health problems including bone death, fibromyalgia, irregular heartbeat, gastrointestinal problems, and underdeveloped reproductive organs. These organizations primarily fall into seven types of activities: aviation, manufacturing, technology, medical, housing, education, community services and technology. This remoteness of Wurtsmith Air Force Base, as well as common brotherhood of being in the United States Air Force resulted in a tight knit community formed by the airmen and their families. The Strategic Air Command activated a wing there on August 1, 1958. So now what? This gave the Army operations the opportunity to begin creating the base we know today. On May 9, 1961, the base took delivery of its first new Boeing B-52 H Stratofortress, The State of Michigan. That plane actually crashed April 11, 1944, which was 70 years to the date that the picture was taken, Drew Losinski said. 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. 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. Only after, the plains were airborne would the crew be notified if it was a drill or not.[1]. VA counselor "don't waste your time". This year, we went out diving, and we could see these points of interest from the surface, Losinski said. He was stationed at the base. They also were known as the Red Tails because they painted the tails of their aircraft red. If you are interested in any particular aircraft of time period please let me know. It has recently been discovered that that the base has been leaking chemicals into the surrounding waterways. [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]. It had everything in it. At the start of 1985, Wurtsmith maintained an $80 million annual payroll with 3,600 military and civilian personnel. The Allison V-1710-85 liquid-cooled V-12 engine behind the pilots seat drove the propeller by means of a driveshaft mounted under the pilots seat. It was also possible for these missions to originate in the United States. They included chemicals like MEK, PD 680, TRI CHLOROFLOIANS, ACIDS, ALODIANS, ALL KINDS OF PAINTS, SPECIAL MISSILE SKIN REPAIR KITS. This would cause some big problems for the fish and other life that lives beneath the surface. The Wurtsmith Air Force Base, created in 1923, played a large role in WWII. This building was like the barracks, but each officer had his own room. The former base includes 4,626 acres (1,872ha) located approximately two miles west of Lake Huron in the Charter Township of Oscoda, bordered by Van Ettan Lake, the [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. They have been detected in air, water, soils, sediments, and in rain at levels that would be considered unsafe in drinking . .. did this bill die in the committee s? Pieces include the engine, the tail, part of the door and the 37-millimeter cannon that fired through the propeller hub. My symptoms looking back were insidious with weakness and muscle fasciculations. [1] This includes on base housing, a daycare center for children, a doctors office, a fully equipped gym, and a store where basic necessities were available, military police, office space, and everything necessary to ensure the planes are fully functioning and ready to fly missions. The base was put into a standby status to be there just in case something happened in those areas. TCE in another well on Jet Street near the present day Wurtsmith AFB museum was 1,739-ppb. August 8, 2018. Typically, brown-ish water occurs when there is large change in pressure/flow in a distribution system. The military has not begun cleanups at any of the 50 Department of Defense sites Congress has identified as highly contaminated with the "forever chemicals" known as PFAS - and it could be years before cleanups are complete. They took a photo on April 11, from the surface of Lake Huron, of the wing of a Wold War II-era fighter plane that crashed during a training exercise, killing its pilot. 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 . 70-77 lived on base housing with family, flight line assistant supervisor. Wurtsmith earned recognition during the war as the leader of the group of pilots using P-40 and P-38 fighter . The KC-135s would finish one mission and there would be another one waiting for them as soon as they were available. [6] 379th Bomb Wing Homestead AFB B-47 Wurtsmith AFB B-52, www.strategic-air-command.com/wings/0379bw.htm. One of the unfortunate risks in flying is a crash. Drinking water laced with high levels of poisonous chemicals may be to blame for cancer and other chronic disease among veterans and families who lived at Wurtsmith Air Force Base in northern Michigan, according to a new federal health report draft. This is heinous, and my heart goes out to so many. While the vast majority of personnel on Wurtsmith Air, Force Base were not part of a flight crew rotating through ready alert, their, respective jobs all served to ensure those planes could take off at a moments, notice. [4] In the later, years of World War II Wurtsmith Air Force Base was used as a fighter-interceptor training base and housed the 332d fighter group, which was part of the famous Tuskegee Airmen. We offer visitors three hangars full of military (all branches) and aviation history, static aircraft displays, artifacts, equipment and lots of WAFB memorabilia. We have a lot of sick civilians and = veterans from contaminated drinking water. A bomber squadron for example would be sent out to destroy a target and return to its home base within a week. The chemicals, notably benzene and trichloroethylene (TCE), were documented at extremely high levels in Wurstmith AFB water many times when the former Strategic Air Command (SAC) base was active and home to B-52 Bomber Wings. [6] The 379th Bomb Wing was, Dave Norton resigned his commotion as a United States Air Force, , 1993 exactly 9 years after receiving his commission, Lt. form the United States Air Force Academy. WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. The 4026th was a SAC Major Command controlled (MAJCON) wing that had been organized on 1 August 1958. 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. At one point, they had to use these toxic foam chemicals to put out a fire at the Oscoda High School in 1995. The Arrow Street purge system, installed in 1982 to remove contaminants from the Building 43 plume, has lowered concentrations o Service ceiling 27,200 feet, and range was 260 miles. [1] The 5,221-acre site is bounded by Van Etten Lake to the north and east . Im using a combination of several source materials to tell the history of the area. Most individuals are not educated on what the base did before and after World War II, what is currently happening at this . The intent is to create a self-help registry for those who were harmed by the extremely toxic organochlorine pesticide contamination detected at Military Family Housing. There were frequently extremely large and loud airplanes taxiing, taking off, and landing in the base. He said the wreckage from the plane is scattered across the lake bottom. It is one of the most famous bases located in our state. [1] At some point over the week an alarm would sound,signaling to the flight crew that the B-52s had to be in the air. [1] The KC-135s had many more opportunities to travel because they would fly in support of any craft capable of refueling in flight. 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 . Mr. Norton remarked that they were flying the wings off of the planes. Major Gary Geiger assigned to the 911TH Safety Office with me back in the late 60's or early 70's was a Navitgator on the B-52's assigned to Westover AFB as he used to tell me when we deployed there do not know if he did time at Wurstmith AFB. Stay tuned for further developments. Dallas Naval base, Texas. [1] At some point over the week an alarm would sound, signaling to the flight crew that the B-52s had to be in the air. The typical activities while not on ready alert varied greatlyfrom person to person. I am not a doctor or attorney, and cannot give medical advice or legal advice. Over the 50 years of operation Wurtsmith Air Force Base had manydifferent missions. [1] This tight knit community was not confined to just the Air Force Base, but extended into the community as well. 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. USVCP Staff Writers . At the time, George was a hub of F-4 Phantom fighter jets and OV-10 Bronco reconnaissance planes. Contaminated water has been shown to be the main way that humans get exposed to this chemical, which is exactly whats going on in Oscoda. It remained named Camp Skeel until 1942 when it was renamed Oscoda Army Air Field (WAFB.net). My daughter was born there on base in 1987 she has gastric issues, and was born w heart issues. Veteran Compensation Programs (www.veteranprograms.com) does not monitor, pre-screen or moderate posts, surveys, topics, comments, blogs or responses. Now that the contamination has reached the Au Sable river, it could potentially carry this contamination into Lake Huron. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. 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. The base was first named after Capt. The aquifer overlies a thick clay layer at an average depth of 65 feet. [4] Enchanted Forest Web Page Design Service. At the time, it was considered a vital Air Defense Command base and was equipped and manned with interceptor aircraft capable of flying over the North Pole into the Soviet Union. Weights were 2450 lb. [1] Mr. Norton, arrived fresh from navigation school as a 2nd Lieutenant at Wurtsmith Air Force, Base in the fall of 1985. U.S. 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). Weve done quite a bit of documenting and measuring, David Losinski said. [4] In the lateryears of World War II Wurtsmith Air Force Base was used as a fighter-interceptor training base and housed the 332d fighter group, which was part of the famous Tuskegee Airmen. Now, I have been diagnosed with Stage 5 kidney failure and congestive heart disease, I am currently on dialysis awaiting a kidney transplant. [1], The northern tier Strategic Air Command Ready Alert Strike Force bases were considered less than desirable duty stations for one main reason. The brown tint is (mostly) caused by scale build up in the pipes being knocked loose. I saw a big splash, and then the plane went out of sight.. [1] Mr. Norton also landedthe first KC-135 in operation Southern Watch. Wurtsmith Today The former Wurtsmith Air Force Base (AFB) properties are being reutilized by 28 businesses and agencies that collectively employ more than 1,660 workers (representing 240 percent of civilian jobs lost). JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas - Announced in late 2021 by the spouse of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Sharene Brown, it increases focus and attention on the top five quality of life challenges military families face. The human-made chemicals are in your blood, your clothes, your cosmetics. Lt. Ennis Whitehead was part of a unit at Selfridge Army Air Field. Lester Graham. The Air Force says, Any aircraft before 1961, weve abandoned it.. This bunker compound housed, the flight crews on ready alert, the three B-52 bombers ready to take off at a, moments notice, and the accompanying KC-135s ready to top off the B-52s after takeoff. How is it that these large and respected scientific organizations can continue to be ignored in the face of statistically overwhelming data and human impacts. 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. The Lackland Air Force Base Education Center is located at 1550 Wurtsmith Street, Suite 5. .

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