What was all that military activity at Homestead air base? Not what some thought
.jpg "An Air Force C-17 Globemaster cargo airplane on the tarmac at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida, Feb. 23, 2019. Operation Patriot Sands is an annual Air Force exercise in which agencies learn to properly prepare equipment, resources, and assets for tactical air mobility.")
If air traffic seemed heavier than normal over Homestead Air Reserve Base over the weekend, it was likely because of a joint-agency exercise held annually at the South Miami-Dade base and two other Florida locations aimed at coordinating regional emergency and natural disaster response.
Personnel from agencies including the Air Force, Coast Guard, FBI and Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue practiced loading and unloading large Air Force cargo planes, such as the C-17 Globemaster III and C-5 Galaxy, to acquaint them with the large aircraft, according to a United States Marine Corps press release.
The Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team Miami participated in the drill by loading a 29-foot patrol boat into a C-17, which took off with the vessel “to conduct a load test,” according to the Coast Guard.
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“Operation Patriot Sands is an annual Air Force exercise in which agencies learn to properly prepare equipment, resources and assets for tactical air mobility,” the statement said.
The exercise is simultaneously held in Tallahassee and Naval Air Station Cecil Field in Jacksonville.
The activity came at the same time as violent conflicts in Venezuela over aid.
The Miami Herald received several inquiries about busy air traffic Saturday over Homestead, with some posting on sodcial media that B-52 bombers flew in and out of the base. This did not happen, said Tim Norton, spokesman for the 482nd Fighter Wing.
“There was no bomber aircraft flying out of the base Saturday,” he said.
This story was originally published February 26, 2019 at 3:36 PM.
