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Base operations resume as Charleston thaws

  • Published
  • By Michael Dukes
  • 315th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. --  As Charleston thaws out from a rare winter storm that swept across the Southeast this week hitting the Lowcountry Tuesday night suspending non-essential base operations, members of the 315th Airlift Wing returned to work mid-morning today.

Base officials announced Wednesday that normal operations would continue at 10 a.m. when more bridges were open and it was safer to commute.

Col. James Fontanella, 315th Airlift Wing commander, had announced Monday afternoon that non-essential personnel would be given administrative leave for shifts scheduled for Tuesday. But the winter storm was delayed. The storm slowly swept through other Southern states, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia were declared states of emergency as last thousands of commuters were stranded on the roads.

After seeing the storm's devastating impact in the region and receiving reports of similar conditions projected for the Lowcountry, Joint Base Charleston leadership decided to once again keep non-essential personnel off the roads and safe at home for Wednesday.

The 315th Airlift Wing saw a tremendous surge in new followers in its social media sites as wing members found this to be the easiest way to stay up to date on the wing's status during the storm.

After up to a half inch of ice and trace amounts of snow in the Charleston area things are slowly returning to normal.

With some exceptions, most customer service entities, to include the 628th Medical Group, Naval Health Clinic Charleston and Weapons Station Veteran's Affairs clinics, recommenced at 10 a.m.

The following Joint Base activities have returned to normal operating hours:
  • Child Development Centers
  • Commissaries
  • BaseExchanges
  • Food courts
Be sure to follow the 315th Airlift Wing on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on breaking news and other announcements as they happen.