Tyndall Air Force Base recovering after Hurricane Michael, officials say
By The Associated Press
Tech. Sgt. Marquelle Willis stands next to a trench used to house high-voltage power lines supplying electricity to a tent city at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., Oct. 28, 2018. Support personnel from Tyndall and other bases are working to repair base infrastructure and build bare-bones facilities after Hurricane Michael. (Airman 1st Class Kelly Walker/Air Force)
Col. Brian Laidlaw told local chamber of commerce members that Tyndall Air Force Base has now been open for a month since the powerful storm struck the Panhandle in October.
Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said that all but about 500 evacuated airmen will return to Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida or the surrounding area in the next few months as the base continues recovering from Hurricane Michael.
The Panama City News Herald reported Saturday that much remains to be done in rebuilding damaged or destroyed structures. But most units at Tyndall are fully operational, including First Air Force headquarters, the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group, the 823rd Red Horse engineering squadron and the 337th Air Control Squadron.
Laidlaw says there are 48 separate repair projects under way affecting 144 different base facilities. To date, he added, officials have issued $175 million in contracts for the work.
Tech. Sgt. Jordan Mcguirt and his wife Rebecca clean debris from Under the Palms Park in Mexico Beach, Fla., Dec. 16, 2018. Thirty nine volunteers from Tyndall and Eglin Air Force Bases came together to help clean Mexico Beach, one of the communities hit the hardest by Hurricane Michael. (Tech. Sgt. Sara Keller/Air Force)
“The prohibition of consideration of the members’ good military character or service record moves the ‘zero-tolerance’ culture forward, omitting opportunities for the ‘good dude’ defense,” said military personnel expert Kate Kuzminski.
Russia said it withdrew its forces from the island as a “goodwill gesture.” Ukraine said the Russians fled following a barrage of artillery and missiles.
Relatives say Lois “Bunny” Drueke spoke to her son Alexander Drueke, one of two Alabama veterans captured earlier this month in Ukraine, via telephone.