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Retired admiral helps base get Prowler for air park

  • Published
  • By Mike W. Ray
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  The U.S. Navy, which has occupied a 185-acre section of Tinker Air Force Base for 21 years, will soon squeeze a naval aircraft into the base air park thanks to the efforts of an admiral from landlocked Oklahoma.

A Navy EA-6B Prowler will be stationed in the Charles B. Hall Airpark directly east of Tinker Gate and just south of Interstate 40. Officials hope to have the plane in place by the end of September.
The twin-engine electronic warfare jet will be situated between a World War II-era C-47 Skytrain and a C-135 Stratolifter that's painted in the color of the president's Air Force One. The Prowler line of aircraft has been in service with U.S. armed forces since 1971.

Retired Rear Admiral Greg Slavonic of Oklahoma City said he got the idea for installing a Navy plane in the air park in late 2009, since 2010 was the centennial anniversary of naval aviation. He said he ran it by Strategic Communications Wing One and also got the approval of then Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center commander Maj. Gen. David Gillett.
The admiral, who spent 34 years in the Navy before retiring in 2005, said that securing approval locally was the easy part.

Admiral Slavonic envisioned an F/A-18 Hornet for the static display. He got a Prowler instead, and had to wait a year for that. The retired aircraft came to TACAMO from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, about 30 miles north of Seattle, Wash. "They were phasing out a squadron and its aircraft," the admiral said.

The Prowler was flown to Tinker, stripped of its engine and avionics, and repainted. Several paint schemes were considered, the admiral related. "I wanted it to be fleet-oriented and have the name of an aircraft carrier stenciled on its side." Accordingly, the airplane now bears the name of the USS Constellation.

According to 72nd Air Base Wing Utilities Construction Administrator Deborah Flores, the Navy Seabees, in conjunction with the Navy League, Navy Civil Engineering and the 507th Civil Engineering Squadron, will construct a concrete pad and steel pedestals for the aircraft, build sidewalk around the static display, and will install lava rock landscaping. Brad Beam and others in the 72nd Air Base Wing Civil Engineering Directorate "have been gracious and accommodating" throughout this process, Admiral Slavonic said.

"In addition," he continued, "a big 'Bravo Zulu' to Ensign Steve Johnson, officer in charge of the Navy Reserve Seabee Detachment, for all of their hard work in ground preparation and concrete finishing."

A local contractor donated approximately 35 yards of concrete for the aircraft pad and sidewalk, and another contractor donated steel that will be used to construct pedestals for the aircraft's landing gear, the admiral said.

The plane will be moved from the Navy Area to the air park when traffic at Tinker is relatively light. Cradled in a specially designed strap, the aircraft will be hoisted by a crane to its designated spot between the two Air Force planes.