Griffiss would be put to use for military training

[Disgusted-Daily]

www.wktv.com/news/local/26360334.html

This is great news for Rome and the surrounding areas. My son loves to watch all the different kind of planes, jets and helicopters fly over the house.

As long as they are our aircrafts they are a welcoming site.

God bless our troops and America!!!!!!!!!!!

[countrygal]

Back when we lost the base, I said that the Air Force would be back because of air space problems everywhere else. I was right. Now, let's just hope the dopes that are in control of Griffiss don't screw it up!

[wilum47]

Aug 7, 2008 14:38:36 GMT -5 Disgusted-Daily said:

www.wktv.com/news/local/26360334.html

This is great news for Rome and the surrounding areas. My son loves to watch all the different kind of planes, jets and helicopters fly over the house.

As long as they are our aircrafts they are a welcoming site.

God bless our troops and America!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I knew a kid just like your son watched those fighters and bombers fly out of Griffiss. He ended up loading bombs, ammo, missiles, rockets and Nukes on a fighter called the Super Saber; and now days proud he did.

[stoney]

Isn't that parcel still contaminated due to the buried unmentionables (like none of us know)?

[countrygal]

Those AWACS are flying really low.....giving our cows quite a fright. Guess they had better get re-used to it!!

[Disgusted-Daily]

Thanks a million Wilum47 for your service. You can't see me right now, but I am saluting you.

[Clipper]

When the battle to keep Griffiss open was going on, one of the factors favorable to keeping it, was the uncrowded airspace, and just the topography favorable to training that is being taunted as the reason for the AWACS wanting to use it for training. McGuire AFB in New Jersey was "competing" for the privilege to stay open and active.

Due strictly to politics and power, McGuire won. McGuire AFB has such a small traffic pattern available to it, with NY City airports, Newark NJ airport, and Philadelphia airport nearby, along with Atlantic City NJ airport, that the only safe manner to launch aircraft from McGuire is to head them out over the ocean, along a narrow corridor, before they can safely gain altitude.

As far as unmentionables being buried there at the base, there was some PCB pollution noted, and there had been landfills and garbage dumps on the back side of the runway, as well as having been one off the south side of SAC Hill years ago. There was also the issue of the pollution caused by de-icing fluid, used both on the aircraft, and on the runway on occasion. To the best of my knowledge, there is no radioactive waste problems or pollution of a nuclear nature at Griffiss, and as a manager, I was privy to a most meetings concerning the closing procedures, and problems. Although there was some PCB polluted soil in spots, some of which have been remediated if not all, the problem with the aircraft de-icing fluid is a problem that would be present in the closing of any active airfield in the snowbelt, commercial, military or otherwise. It was actually a lucky thing for those that had their wells polluted, that it ocurred when it did, and the city water was piped to those homes whose wells were polluted, BEFORE the toxicity was able to have a major impact on their health.

Countrygal, the B-52's and KC-135's had approximately the same approach slope as the EC-135' AWACS. It is only that your cows are no longer used to the regular fly overs any more. You have a new generation of scaredy cows, haha. I imagine that any "newcomers" to Ridge Mills area are probably also noting the noise levels that we used to link to money and the area economy.

Just think of it as the sound of "freedom, and security." Maybe you can buy all the cows MP3 players with earbuds, so they can drown out the jet noise, haha. I remember driving to work on Rt 49, and having a B-52 or a tanker fly overhead, on final approach, and scare hell out of me until I realized what the horrible noise was. Do you remember when the C-5a's used to shoot "touch and go" landings at the base? I remember when I lived on River Road just east of Lock 20, and the loud whining noise of those large fanjets as the aircraft put on power to maintain altitude on approach.

Be glad cows don't fly, haha! If a plane crashes because of sucking birds into the intakes on their jet engines, just think the dangers of sucking in a flying cow while on final approach, hahaha! Hmmm, they think that the little "whitewash" spots from birds hinder their vision when it gets on the windshield, LOL.

[countrygal]

Actually they are flying a bit lower and have a flight pattern a little to the right of what they used to be. I have a friend who is a navigator in the AF and I asked him. I don't mind and the cows will get used to it. Although having them go over so early in the morning will take getting re-used to!

[stoney]

OK, Clip. OK.

[rrogers40]

I haven't seen them yet- what runway have they be using recently? I used to have a radio that I could listen into the Griffiss ATIS- did they ever get there runway lights working?- but its not working.

[wilum47]

Aug 7, 2008 15:09:03 GMT -5 Disgusted-Daily said:

Thanks a million Wilum47 for your service. You can't see me right now, but I am saluting you.

Thanks, Todd, just one of a few who answered the call on this board.

[dan]

[e-mail]

It's not ideal,but you can listen to all Central NY emergency channels, including Griffiss. When you go to the address it automattically launches Windows Mediaplayer.

[lucy]

This is great news for us!!! Dan thanks for the scanner website. Now I don't need to go out and buy a scanner.

[dan]

The downside of it is you cannot "turn off" channels you don't want to listen to. You could be in the middle of listening to wilum47 (ahem!) responding to an MVA and then lose it to wcup (ahem!) calling in a license number. It gets distracting at times, but it keeps me informed from Detroit.

[Clipper]

Stoney, I wasn't being sarcastic. I was simply pointing out that there is not a danger of nuclear waste or radioactive pollution that would be a threat to the public. There IS plenty of other pollution on the base, after having all those garbage and trash dumps in different locations over the years, and also with the chemical contamination in the soil.

I was merely pointing out that the "unmentionables" won't be of any major concern to anyone in the near future, and that by mentioning non mentionables might lead someone to believe that by storing nuclear weapons there, the public could be exposed to nuclear radiation. When I rode the rescue truck in the base fire department, we were in and around the weapons area often. Nuclear materials were stored in shielded containers, and there was zero danger of radioactive exposure from the stored weapons. It was also monitored for any leakage 24/7 and there was never any incident.

The dangers at Griffiss from pollution are about the same as the "dirty dirt" dug up when a gas station's tanks leak. The soil needs to be hauled to a lined landfill, just as other petroleum contaminated soil is. Much of that has already taken place, but I cannot attest to how much since I left the area in 2002.
People that lived near the Bossert site were exposed to worse.