Ellsworth prepares for runway closure Published July 5, 2011 By Senior Airman Jarad A. Denton 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. -- The runway on Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D. is scheduled to fully close for repairs, Aug. 1, 2011 as part of a repair project that kicked off last month. During the shutdown, several base B-1B Lancers will be operating out of Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, and give repair crews time to make the necessary repairs. "The B-1s are scheduled to be diverted to Dyess at the end of July," said Master Sgt. Gerald Gilchrist, 28th Operations Support Squadron deputy airfield manager. "This is nothing out of the ordinary and is common practice when repairs are being made on an installation runway. Ellsworth hosted B-1s from Dyess when the runway there was being renovated." The aircraft will operate out of Dyess for the duration of the full runway closure. They are expected to return when certain sections of the runway reopen Sept. 15. The entire airfield is scheduled to reopen by the end of October. Throughout the runway closure, the base will conduct a foreign objects and debris walk which will serve to assist the incoming repair crews. Airmen participating in FOD walks will look for any objects that litter the runway. While those objects may have little value in their current state, they could cause substantial and costly damage if they are picked up by an aircraft. "These FOD walks will give us the opportunity to identify and annotate any potential problems with the runway prior to the shutdown," said Tech. Sgt. David Whaley, 28th Bomb Wing FOD manager. "Several sections of the runway are scheduled for repair, so every Airman must do their part when participating in the FOD walk."