Souda Spotlight: Mike Tyburski, Emergency Operations Center / Emergency Dispatch Center Manager

Story and photo by Joel Diller, Public Affairs

Mike Tyburski, originally from Charlotte, N.C., came to NSA Souda Bay in December 2020 from the Regional Operations Center at Joint Region Marianas, Guam. Tyburski served in the Air Force for 12 years and as a civilian in Alaska, Afghanistan, South Carolina and Georgia. He was previously at NSA Souda Bay from September 2014 to October 2018. He said he returned to Team Souda because of the outstanding community and culture here in Greece.

What did you do serving with the Air Force?

Most of my Air Force career was with firefighting all over the world, that was interesting. My last three years of service were spent with a high-speed engineering unit with the Air Force called the 819th RED HORSE Squadron (Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineer), working directly with Army Rangers, Army Sappers and some other high-speed guys jumping out of planes, air assault, and lots of tactical medical training. It's a privilege to be a part of a long and distinguished tradition called Airborne.

Why did you decide to get into emergency management?

It felt more practical to manage emergencies from a 36,000 foot view rather than being on the ground dragging hose – I did that piece. I did it in Afghanistan for a long time. Realworld stuff on a quick response team: plane crashes, pulling people out of Humvees, fires, gunshot wounds – it was enough for me. I would rather manage the situation or emergency support than be in the middle of it. I was able to turn my experience and added education into a practical understanding of emergency management and know what other first responders might want or need on scene or what kind of support they may need.

What is a typical day like for you?

Multitasking, training, scheduling, taskers, meeting after meeting. That’s a typical day. The days can shift. We may be busy with a SHOTEX one day and we may be doing a base-wide drill the next. And then I put my EOC hat on and I’m an EOC manager facilitating an Incident Management Team to get through an actual emergency or a training event.

What do you like to do outside of the office?

I’m 44 years young and I like to think I still have a little bit of that energy underneath as far as having fun and doing different things outside of the office. I love to go rock climbing and free diving. Kite surfing has been one of my biggest hobbies for the last six years. I love to get out on my motorcycle as well. Trying to maintain a routine in the gym has been difficult due to the restrictions but I do the best I can. My wife and I are Greek Orthodox and love attending the different churches and monasteries.

What do you want Team Souda to know?

I am now designated as a motorcycle coordinator for the base. It’s through the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and we basically help the Service Members out here stay safe on the roads, be able to let them drive their bikes on and off the base.

Also, the EM team here is pretty resilient, active and ambitious. They want to accomplish a lot and they mean well. Everybody is here for the community service. We sincerely care about our jobs and the people.