MOODY AIR FORCE BASE – Hangar 642 at Moody AFB officially reopens after hurricane damage with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Release:
Hangar 642 recently officially reopened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, Oct. 6, 2025 after being damaged by Hurricane Helene last year.
The completed hangar renovation required meticulous coordination between the 71st Rescue Generation Squadron and the 23rd Civil Engineer Squadron. Following the hangar’s damage and subsequent closure last year, both squadrons worked to restore and expand essential maintenance capabilities of the bases HC-130J Combat King II aircraft.
The restored hangar gives the 71st RGS another place to store its aircraft, according to Tech. Sgt. Benjamin Hammond, a construction inspector with the 23rd CES. The project included removing the old roof, installing new waterproofing and insulation, adding metal roofing and walls, and cleaning and rehanging the hangar door.
The renovated hangar now provides additional areas for aircraft to have routine maintenance in a controlled area.
“Let’s say we identify something after a flight on the flightline, during a routine maintenance, this area gives us an opportunity to pull the plane into the hangar and be able to address those issues in a way that is environmentally controlled, so we’re not fighting any dust, debris or wind,” said Staff Sgt. Ricci Lemmenes, 71st RGS programs manager. “So, it’s not only going to help us clean the aircraft, it’s going to help when we prep and paint the aircraft doing all that here is a force multiplier.”
According to Lemmenes, tasks that previously took several days on the flightline can now be completed in nearly half the time inside the hangar.
“We have a time limit that we can fly these planes within, and after a certain number of hours or months, we have to go through and double check to make sure there’s no rust or deterioration of any kind,” Lemmenes said. “So having the hangar back to be able to do this properly, to ensure that our aircrafts are 100%, it’s going to increase our readiness, because we’ll be able to get things done faster, which means the aircraft will be available more often and our maintainers won’t be so held up doing this job.”
As part of the renovation, contractors also investigated the original cause of the roof failure during the hurricane and implemented structural improvements.
“We did a lot of investigations of why the roof system fell and the wall panels fell, that pushed us to understand that the clips used weren’t sufficient enough to withhold a hurricane of that category,” said Rene Ramirez, Engineering and Construction Contracting project construction manager. “This renovation should help because now we have over 30 other roofs that we’re doing across the base, so now you’re not just having a better system on this building, but on the other 30 odd buildings that we’re doing as well.”
The re-opened hangar positions the 71st Rescue Squadron for sustained operational readiness, ensuring its ability to meet future mission requirements while strengthening the overall infrastructure and contributing to the long-term operational effectiveness.
