Monthly Military Monitoring Recaps Removed

Regular readers will have noticed that over the last few months I haven't posted any monthly military monitoring recaps and removed previous ones from the blog. Primarily I haven't had as much radio time recently, which means I haven't had to the time to compile the recaps. The Iran War, our action in Venezuela, our commitment in the Ukraine War, and future potential conflicts/actions are the reason I took down the existing recaps. The static callsign/frequency information in the MilCom tab of the blog will remain. 

4th Fighter Wing From Seymour-Johnson AFB at Savannah-Hilton Head IAP for the Summer

I had a previous version of this post up earlier in the summer, but I haven't had a lot of monitoring opportunities and didn't realize there were F-15Es from multiple squadrons at the Savannah Combat Readiness Training Center/Air Dominance Center instead of just one. It turns out that the F-15Es are (at least) from the 4th Fighter Wing's 333rd and 334th Fighter Squadrons. They're here this summer while runway maintenance is being done at their home, Seymour-Johnson AFB. Draken International A-4K Skyhawks are also at Savannah providing aggressor/red air flights. They're flying morning, afternoon, evening, and night sorties but due to other commitments, most of my monitoring opportunities are the evening and night sorties. I haven't had the chance to get out to the airport and put eyes on them except for a short time when they first arrived. 

4th FW/333rd FS F-15Es at Savannah-Hilton Head IAP on 15 June 2026

Road Trip Radio Report - Overnight Road Trip to the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia; 26/27 July 2026

This past weekend, I went on an overnight road trip to the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia, SC to see their Semi-quincentennial/American Revolution exhibit. As I mentioned in a previous post, I spent late June and early July on family leaving helping a relative after surgery, so it was a good opportunity to rest, relax, and enjoy myself. I left Savannah on Sunday morning, using US-321 for the trip up and returned on Monday morning, using I-26 and I-95. Sunday night, I stayed in Cayce, SC not far away from Columbia Municipal Airport (KCAE). Even though my travels were on a Sunday and early Monday, the trip still provided some good monitoring opportunities. As always, the Columbia area provided no shortage of public safety communications. There was steady traffic at Columbia Municipal Airport and although there was little military communications to be heard on Sunday I caught some F-5Ns out of MCAS Beaufort and some F-15Es from Savannah-Hilton Head IAP on Monday morning. There was usual VHF/UHF morning commute amateur radio traffic on Monday and I was surprised at the amount of VHF/UHF amateur radio traffic I heard around Orangeburg and Columbia on Sunday afternoon. There was some rain and thunderstorm activity on Sunday afternoon and evening and I think that played into less medevac helicopter activity than I usually hear in Columbia.

The South Carolina State Museum in Columbia, SC (the dome of their observatory is visible on the roof)

Visiting the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge's Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive and Listening to Savannah-Hilton Head IAP and Georgia Ports

I've been on FMLA for three weeks, caregiving for a family member after surgery and go back to work on Monday, so I visited the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge's Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive early before it got too hot (a high of 100F has been forecast). It turned out to be a beautiful morning and I saw plenty of alligators and birds. A visit to the Savannah NWR also presents a good opportunity to listen to Savannah-Hilton Head IAP and Georgia Ports as the Refuge is just across the Savannah River from Garden City, Port Wentworth, the Airport, and the port terminal and railyards. 

Purple Gallinule at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge

Macon and Warner Robins - Overnight Road Trip Radio Report; 9/10 June 2026

My summer vacation road trip this year was limited to an overnight road trip to Macon and Warner Robins. I left Savannah around lunchtime on Tuesday and went up to Macon to visit the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame before heading down to Warner Robins to spend the night. I spent Wednesday morning at the Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB before getting lunch in Warner Robins and heading back to Savannah. I enjoyed the trip; the weather was good with just a few sprinkles of rain on Tuesday but you could definitely tell that Summer is upon us. The only disappointment was a lack of activity in the Bulldog MOA as I drove under it on the way to Macon and Warner Robins and back home to Savannah. 

The Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB in Warner Robins, GA

Commemorative Air Force AirPower History Tour and USCGC Barque Eagle (WIX-327) Visiting Savannah and ANG/USAF Fighters at the Air Dominance Center/Combat Readiness Training Center

This weekend, both the Commemorative Air Force's AirPower History Tour and the US Coast Guard's Barque Eagle visited Savannah. Sunday morning was an opportunity to indulge my inner History and Aviation Geeks and visit both. I'm glad that for once, my days off and time in Savannah coincided with opportunities to see something historical and interesting. Even though the morning started off gray and drizzly, it turned out to be a good one. 

The Commemorative Air Force's B-29 FiFi under cloudy, drizzly skies at Sheltair Savannah on Sunday morning

Monitoring the Southeast Georgia Wildfires

For those who don't live in the southeast, you may not be aware that southern Georgia has two large wildfires burning at the same time: the Pineland Road Fire in Clinch and Echols Counties (west of the Okefenokee Swamp) and the Highway 82 Fire in Brantley County (east of the Okefenokee Swamp). As I write, the Highway 82 Fire has burned over 22,000 acres and is 33% contained and the Pineland Road Fire has burned over 32,000 acres and is 38% contained. Both fires are due to the extraordinary drought in the region. Over the last few days, I've been able to hear some of the firefighting radio traffic from the two fires; most from the Highway 82 Fire, but some of the same assets and frequencies are being used for both fires. 

Monitoring the Highway 82 Fire from a safe distance from KF4LMT Mobile using a Uniden SDS100, two Uniden BCD325P2s, a Uniden BCD436HP, and a Whistler TRX-1