Four Years Later: USACE and Tyndall AFB Continue Partnership in Base Rebuild

BEING READY AND RESPONSIVE – MOBILE DISTRICT

BY JEREMY MURRAY

After Hurricane Michael hit Tyndall Air Force Base (AFB) in Panama City, Florida, in October 2018, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Mobile District formed a partnership with the vision to build the “Installation of the Future.”

USACE provides many services for the Air Force, including humanitarian assistance and responding to natural disasters. Prior to Hurricane Michael, USACE engineers existed on the base to implement a small number of construction projects on a limited basis.

The Mobile District’s mission is to provide construction, maintain, and operate key infrastructure projects that contribute to the nation’s economy, environment, safety, and quality of life, now and in the future.

When Hurricane Michael hit Tyndall AFB in particular, the base received $5 billion in damages.

As viewed on Oct. 14, 2022, the new 325th Force Support Squadron Child Development Center (CDC) continues construction at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. The completion of the new CDC facility will mark a massive milestone in Tyndall’s rebuilding efforts toward becoming the “Installation of the Future.”

USACE PHOTO CHUCK WALKER

“Hurricane Michael destroyed 99% of the base,” said Col. Patrick Combs, Tyndall AFB program integration officer in charge. “What the Tyndall team has accomplished so far is remarkable considering the circumstances they were faced with when they took on the task of the rebuild.”

The Air Force decided to rebuild the base because it’s a strategic location, not only for the service, but also for the Department of Defense to ensure air superiority. Tyndall adjoins the Gulf Range Complex (GRC), comprised of 180,000 square miles of training airspace over the Gulf of Mexico. The GRC is one of the few ranges in the United States capable of supporting large-scale air combat training. Direct access to this range is essential for fifth-generation fighter readiness, for fourth- and fifth-generation fighter interoperability, and for live-fire testing and training.

The challenge of rebuilding the base became an opportunity for the Mobile District to deliver its support, and in the short four years since the storm hit, significant progress is being made in the multibillion-dollar program.

One person who has seen the progress of the rebuild firsthand is Colleen Duffy, 325th Mission Support Group deputy director, who was working at Tyndall when Hurricane Michael hit.

“The base from Oct. 10, 2018, to today is night and day,” said Duffy. “It’s amazing to see the base literally come out of the ground and rise from the damage of Hurricane Michael.”

To make Tyndall AFB into the installation of the future for the Air Force, the Tyndall team is ensuring the new buildings that make up the base withstand hurricane winds and rain, with top-of-the-line security and technology systems.

“The rebuild gives us the unique opportunity to reimagine how we accommodate the needs of the F-35,” said Col. Travis Leighton, Natural Disaster Recovery Division director.

In May 2022, USACE was awarded a $532 million construction contract to deliver 11 projects that will directly support flightline operations for the F-35A Lightning II aircraft. The rebuild includes more than 40 military construction projects.

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“Just in this past year USACE has been awarded $1.8 billion [in] military construction projects that are all breaking ground this year,” said Col. Jeremy J. Chapman, USACE Mobile District commander. “Including the flightline facilities project, [it is] the biggest contract in Air Force history.”

While there has been tremendous progress at Tyndall, it is still a long road ahead.

“The Tyndall rebuild is to start delivering major facilities in 2025,” said Mike Dwyer, Air Force Civil Engineer Center deputy chief. “The complete closeout of the base is projected to be done between 2026 and 2027.”

To date, USACE is assisting with more than 40 new military construction, or MILCON, projects while simultaneously over seeing more than 100 new facilities in the reconstruction of Tyndall and will continue its partnership well after completion of the installation of the future.

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