Air Force: Foot-and-mouth
prevention
steps in England won't affect readiness
By Ron Jensen, U.K. bureau
RAF
MILDENHALL, England — While British farmers struggle mightily with the foot-and-mouth
outbreak, the U.S. Air Force in the United Kingdom is concerned about how the disease will
affect its aircraft.
Many
nations are requiring American aircraft that come from or through the U.K. to be sprayed
with a disinfectant, and the Air Force wonders if the chemicals used can be harmful to the
aircraft.
"We’re
very concerned about the corrosive effects these disinfectants might have," said Col.
Phil Miller, director of logistics for the 3rd Air Force, based at RAF Mildenhall.
But
that’s just one way the Air Force is touched by the sweeping epidemic of the disease
that has struck about 1,500 farms in the U.K. and prompted the slaughter of more than 1
million animals.
The 3rd Air
Force is coordinating with British government agencies, the U.S. Department of Agriculture
and governments around Europe to ensure its activities do not lead to the spread of the
disease.
"We
are doing what we possibly can to be good residents," Miller said.
Miller said
the American military efforts are similar to those taken by the British Ministry of
Defence.
"We’re
trying to mirror their efforts," he said.
Air Force
operations here have been adjusted to limit the potential spread of the disease. Fighter
aircraft from RAF Lakenheath’s 48th Fighter Wing are not flying as low as normal.
Helicopters with the 352nd Special Operations Group at RAF Mildenhall have stopped landing
on dirt, flying only from one runway to another. The fear is that dust kicked into air by
low-flying jets or landing helicopters will contain the virus and cause it to spread.
Meanwhile,
household goods are getting a more thorough once-over before shipment to ensure the
disease is not carried back to the States or another base abroad a lawn mower, bicycle or
barbecue grill, for example.
Col. Mark
Stevens, commander of the logistics group at RAF Mildenhall, is heading a working group
that looks at all aspects of base operations — from passenger transits to personal
property shipments to aircraft operations to Air Fete — and how they might be
affected by the foot-and-mouth outbreak.
The group
began meeting several times a week when the outbreak began in February, but now gathers
weekly to discuss the disease and its impact.
As a major
transit hub on the Air Mobility Command global route, the base sees several aircraft daily
passing through on their way to other spots in Europe or back to the United States. All
passengers are being told not to carry anything aboard the aircraft — food items, for
example — that could carry the virus that causes the disease. Passengers have been
walking over pads treated with a non-toxic disinfectant.
The nature
of such air operations requires coordination with a variety of nations, anywhere a U.S.
Air Force aircraft might land.
"I
believe we’re interacting with 51 different countries, finding out what their
requirements are," Stevens said.
For
servicemembers and families who are transferring from the U.K., the permanent change of
station move now includes the need to disinfect outdoor furniture and the like. Plus,
inspection teams are now looking at outbound property for every move, rather than some,
checking everything from carpets to pets.
"We’ve
got three teams working full time on these," said Stevens. He said more teams will
gear up for the summer PCS rush.
Training
areas owned by the British military often are used by Americans, but they have all been
closed. Security forces who use the areas for small-arms training, for example, could be
affected by that, but Master Sgt. Eric Welsh of the 100th Security Forces Squadron said,
"We’ve easily overcome that by drawing our training into Lakenheath, Mildenhall
and Feltwell."
As the Air
Force addresses the issues, however, it must still maintain its training. Col. Jeffrey
Wall, commander of the 352nd Special Operations Group, said the restrictions are easily
worked around.
"With
the diversity in the SOG, we are probably the most impacted of any units in the
area," he said.
His MH-53
Pave Low helicopters are restricted to "hardstand to hardstand" flights and his
special tactics troops are unable to do parachute training, for example, because the
British training areas are closed.
"We
make up for that in several ways," he said.
The group
may send more troops than originally planned to scheduled exercises. It can also join its
sister units in the States for training.
"It
hasn’t impacted readiness at all," Wall said.
But the Air
Force is waiting to discover if the disease will adversely affect aircraft because of the
disinfectants used by various countries. At Naval Station Rota, Spain, for example, all
planes from the U.K. are disinfected inside and out, a process that takes about two hours.
"That
is a concern," Wall said.
The Air
Force is tracking aircraft that are disinfected and how they are disinfected. This
information will be used to assess any damage later.
Wall said:
"You find out what disinfectant they use, what strength they are using, what
procedures they use to put it on the aircraft."
Tech Sgt.
William Wilkins, a member of the working group and the 352nd Maintenance Squadron, said he
is curious and concerned about what damage, if any, will be found on aircraft that has
been treated.
"It’s
too soon still" to identify any damage, he said.
But in an
effort to meet the requirement to disinfect and, hopefully, minimize any possible damage,
Wilkins said, aircraft are getting plenty of cleanings.
"We’re
doing a lot of unscheduled washes now," he said.
He said the
disinfectant is on the aircraft only a few minutes before it is washed off, but sometimes
the wash may not reach all of the disinfectant.
Maj. David
Nelson of the 48th Medical Group at RAF Lakenheath is on the working group to assess
bio-environmental concerns.
He said
airmen who are doing the disinfecting have little to fear from the chemicals they use,
because they are diluted with water.
"The
most dangerous portion of it is the dilution of it," Nelson said. Some of the
chemicals can burn the skin before diluted, but after dilution, they are harmless enough
that respirator gear is hardly ever needed during the application.
So far, the
Air Force here is confident it has thought of everything.
Stevens
said new questions are not often raised at the working group meetings now like they were
at the beginning.
"I’m
pretty comfortable now," he said. "It’s been effective so far."
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