In 1890 the US War Department commissioned the building of Fort Crook ten miles south of Omaha, Nebraska, near the confluence of the Missouri and Platte Rivers. The installation was later renamed in honor of First Lieutenant Jarvis Jennes Offutt, who was the first casualty in World War I from the city of Omaha. Among other functions, Offutt AFB serves as the headquarters for the US Strategic Command. In March of 2019, a levee breach along the Platte River during high water resulted in the flooding of about one third of the base and 3,000 feet of the base’s runway. The flood damaged nearly 140 facilities and buildings. The recovery and rebuilding program will take several years to complete and is expected to cost more than $500 million. MAJ Dana Lundy led my tour of Offutt. More to come.
