TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --
– Hurricane Season on the East Coast is June 1 through Nov. 30 each year, and various organizations on Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, have the responsibility to keep Airmen in the know about upcoming or imminent inclement weather. One unit does this by broadcasting prudent announcements over what is locally called as the “Giant Voice.”
“The Air Force Northern Tyndall Command Center's mission is to disseminate weather advisories, watches and warnings to base populous and key personnel,” said Staff Sgt. Eduardo Lopez-Perez, 325th Fighter Wing Staff Agency senior emergency actions controller.
Lopez-Perez went on to say that action from all personnel should be taken for all weather announcements as required for safe keeping of Air Force personnel and equipment.
“This section has the goal of broadcasting information vital to the survivability of the 325th Fighter Wing and tenant unit personnel assigned to Tyndall Air Force Base,” Lopez-Perez added.
Members of the Tyndall Command Post implore Airmen to listen to the information provided over the public address system as the warnings could potentially save lives.
“Personnel on duty should comply with the assigned responsibilities safe keeping Air Force property and personal safety,” Lopez-Perez said. “With that being said all personnel should take shelter from the current weather warning conditions. Remaining indoors will always be the safest measure.”
All personnel should respond accordingly to the directives that they have been given and heed what information is being posted for them, he added.
The Tyndall Command Post receives information regarding weather from the Tyndall Weather Flight during duty hours and the 26th Operation Weather Squadron weather observer, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana and are mandated by Air Force Instruction to get the notifications out in an accurate and quick fashion.
AFI 10-206 Operational Reporting para 8.4, states our requirements on base notification requirements. Within one hour our Emergency Mass Notification System should be able to provide information to 100 percent of on and off installation personnel. This is only if all personnel have signed up to the appropriate resources, Lopez-Perez said.
Lopez-Perez went on to tout the capabilities of those in his section to not just meet those standards, but exceed them.
“I dare say it does not take that long for base populous to be informed as our controllers act immediately upon notification,” he said. “Weather information dissemination is done immediately. It does not take more than five minutes to disseminate the message to base populous.
“The command center is the ‘nerve center’ of the installation, it is the place where all major information or decisions are up and down channeled in order to move personnel and assets. Such as deployment orders, execution orders, operations orders, and so on. The command center works to ensure that any directive that president of the United States, secretary of defense, and major commands are able to communicate with the installation commanders without delay,” Lopez-Perez concluded.