Air-to-Air Melees off the Georgia Coast - Sentry South Exercise Underway in Savannah

Earlier this week, an air combat exercise began at the Savannah Combat Readiness Training Center/Air Dominance Center at Savannah-Hilton Head IAP. Sentry South is what used to be Sentry Savannah, and although the name may have changed slightly, it is still the same exercise with mostly the same participants. This January's exercise involves USAF and Air National Guard F-22As, F-35As, F-16CMs, T-38s, and KC-135s, USMC F-35Bs, and Top Aces F-16s. Four units are working out of the Air Dominance Center in Savannah, tanker support is flying out of Hunter AAF in Savannah, and some local area units are flying out of their home bases.

ADS-B Exchange tracks of two of the KC-135s and some of the T-38s supporting the Sentry South exercise in Savannah

Space, History, and Wildlife - Space Coast, Treasure Coast, and First Coast Road Trip Radio Report; 12-16 January 2026

This past week was my annual Space Coast Road trip; this year in addition to the Space Coast, I added stops in Fort Pierce and Vero Beach in the Treasure Coast (my first time in that area) and stops in St Augustine and Jacksonville in the First Coast. I left Savannah on Sunday afternoon and stayed overnight in Orange Park to beat the Monday morning rush hour traffic in Jacksonville. The road trip began in earnest on Monday morning; my first stop was Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park in Flagler Beach, where I also did a Parks on the Air (POTA) activation after which I continued south to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Titusville. Tuesday was "Space Day," with visits to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, the Sands Space History Center, and the American Space Museum & Hall of Fame. This year's Space Coast Road Trip took place just before the rollout of Artemis II from Kennedy Space Center's VAB to Launch Complex 39B ahead of next month's scheduled launch on a mission around the Moon. I may not have been there for the rollout, but I was able to hear some of the radio communications preparing for the rollout while in the Titusville area. It made for fascinating listening. After breakfast on Wednesday, I headed south to the Treasure Coast and visited the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce; after lunch in Vero Beach, I visited Mel Fisher's Treasures in Sebastian and the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum in Titusville. On Thursday, I made another visit to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, then headed north to Fort Mose State Historic Park in St Augustine (where I did another POTA activation) after lunch. I stayed overnight in St Augustine so I wouldn't have to drive through Jacksonville rush hour traffic and headed back to Savannah on Friday after a visit to the Brumos Collection in Jacksonville. 

The Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and Launch Control Center (LCC) at Kennedy Space Center. This year's Space Coast Road Trip took place just before Artemis II left the VAB for Launch Complex 39B; while I wasn't in the area for the rollout, the timing did give me the opportunity to listen to preparation and support of the rollout.

Reconstruction Roots in the Lowcountry: Beaufort, Port Royal, and St Helena Island Overnight Road Trip Radio Report - 27/28 December 2025

On Saturday morning, I made a last minute decision to take an overnight road trip from Savannah up to Beaufort to visit the Beaufort History Museum and the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park. It was another practically tropical December day in Coastal Georgia and Lowcountry South Carolina, so it was a great day for a road trip. It turned out that the History Museum was closed for the morning due to a staffing issue, but it turned out to be an interesting trip anyway (and it gives me another reason to come back another day...). I also fit in visits to the Fort Fremont History Preserve, the St Helena Island Chapel of Ease, and the Fort Frederick History Preserve. Radio-wise, I didn't expect a lot of military aviation activity due to it being a holiday weekend, but there was one nice surprise. There was quite a bit of fire department traffic on the area Palmetto 800 sites to listen to, however. The radio in KF4LMT Mobile didn't stay silent much throughout the day. On the amateur radio side of things, there was decent activity on area 2 Meter analog repeaters and I squeezed in a short POTA (Parks on the Air) activation. 

The Beaufort History Museum in the Beaufort Arsenal (built in 1798), unfortunately it was closed the morning of my visit

Wildlife and Radio - Parks on the Air Activation at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge

This afternoon, I combined my love of nature, wildlife, and radio with a visit to the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge's Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive just across the Savannah River in South Carolina. It was a beautiful day for a visit, it got up into the mid-50s instead of the 30s that we had yesterday and it wasn't nearly as windy as it was yesterday, so it was a terrific day for watching birds. I saw a lot of Teal and Northern Shovelers, but unfortunately none were close enough to get photos of. I got some photos of American Coots and Common Grebes along with year-around residents Anhingas, Great Blue Herons, and White Ibis. I also saw what I think was an immature Cooper's Hawk. The cold snap wasn't so good for watching alligators and turtles, I only saw one alligator during the visit and it wasn't where I could get a good photo. 

I set up my portable HF station out of the back of my car at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge's Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive for a Parks on the Air activation

Coastal Georgia Christmas (Not So Much a) Road Trip Radio Report; 13/14 December 2025

I'm not taking a road trip in December as I prepare for a Space Coast Road Trip in January but over the weekend, I did travel around southeast and coastal Georgia visiting the Georgia Veterans Cemetery in Glennville, Fort Pulaski in Savannah, and Fort King George in Darien. I don't post a lot about local Fire/Rescue communications in the Savannah area, so I thought I'd do a blog post about the weekend's travels and what I heard during them. Perhaps it will be helpful for anyone who may be thinking about visiting the Savannah area.

Candlelit Christmas decoration at Fort Pulaski National Monument's Candle Lantern Tour

Poinsett State Park & Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens - Midlands South Carolina Road Trip Radio Report; 9/10 November 2025

I took an overnight road trip to Midlands South Carolina on Sunday, 9 November and Monday, 10 November 2025 to visit Poinsett State Park in Wedgefield and Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens in Columbia. The trip up was via I-95 and the trip back to Savannah was on US-321, providing two different levels of activity on amateur radio and scanning. Both days were beautiful and especially on Monday, I enjoyed the colors of the Autumn foliage; we don't get quite as much color at home on the coast. Due to the Federal holiday on Tuesday, there was very little military communications to monitor, public safety in the Columbia area was busy as always, and the railroads around Columbia were active as well. There wasn't much Federal communications activity either, although I was surprised to hear the Fort Sumter NHS talkgroup on the Palmetto 800 system active during the Federal Government shutdown. While visiting the Zoo, I enjoyed listening to their radio system. On amateur radio, I had fun doing a Parks on the Air (POTA) activation at Poinsett State Park and listening to 2 Meter/70 cm repeaters along my route of travel. 

Autumn foliage at Poinsett State Park

My First Road Trip Incorporating Parks on the Air Activity - Central Georgia Road Trip Radio Report; 19/20 October 2025

This weekend's overnight road trip to Central Georgia was the first time I've incorporated portable HF operating and Parks on the Air activity into one of my road trips. I left Savannah on Sunday morning and headed toward the Piedmont NWR north of Macon. It started raining just north of Dublin, so went through Jeffersonville and Gordon to Gray, GA where I stopped for an early lunch at Old Clinton BBQ while I waited for the rain to slack off. After lunch, I continued on to the NWR, scouting for a good spot to operate from, finding one on the Little Rock Wildlife Drive. After activating the Piedmont NWR, I continued on to Juliette, GA where I visited Jarrell Plantation State Historic Site and activated it after touring the grounds. The day may have started out dreary and wet, but the afternoon turned out wonderful. Between it being a Sunday and the weather not being all that great, I didn't hear any MilCom activity, but there was plenty of public safety and railroad communications to listen to. I had a special project planned for the drive back home on Monday morning; I stopped at Exit 143 on I-16 and did some radio recon on the DMR system in use at Hyundai Metaplant in Ellabell. It was a successful stop and it yielded some good results.

Some of the historic structures at Jarrell Plantation State Historic Site in Juliette, GA