? Officials with the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., broke ground for the new outpatient medical clinic that is scheduled to open on base in mid to late 2016, replacing the current facility, according to a base release. The ceremony took place on Aug. 12; construction of the 106,500-square-foot Thomas F. Koritz Clinic is scheduled to commence in January 2015, states the release. Following completion of the $53 million construction project, medical personnel will transition to the new state-of-the-art facility and workers will demolish the current clinic. The new facility will be one of the most significant upgrades to the base in the last 30 years, said Col. Mark Slocum, 4th FW commander. It will feature “the integrated technology necessary to ensure the health and wellness of the community and maintain a combat-ready and deployable force,” he said. The clinic is named after Maj. Thomas Koritz, an Air Force surgeon and pilot based at Seymour Johnson, who was killed in Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
The Air Force displayed all the firepower it has amassed on Okinawa in an unusually diverse show of force this week. IIn a May 6 “Elephant Walk,” Kadena Air Base showcased 24 F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters, eight F-15E Strike Eagles; two U.S. Army Patriot anti-missile batteries near the runway; and…