Wing commander delivers 'State of Tyndall' address

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Joshua Stevens
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The commander of the 325th Fighter Wing addressed key civic and business leaders of the communities in the local area of Tyndall Air Force Base April 21 in the Heritage Club here to orient them on the current and future status of Tyndall operations.

After welcoming the more than 40 community members of the Tyndall Military Affairs Committee who were present, Brig. Gen. Darryl Roberson opened his "State of Tyndall" address by describing one of the base's most notable ongoing projects, the installation of final-denial barrier systems to the access gates. The project, which helps heighten security by decreasing the threat of "gate runners," should be in the completion phase toward the end of May.

He then began describing the scope and objective of 325 FW operations, stating, "We provide world-class training to guarantee air dominance for America. We are the only base in the Air Force which trains solely for air dominance - that's our mission."

Using that as a springboard, he delved further into each group, pointing out statistics, facts, various award winners and successes of the units. "We have outstanding people doing fantastic things," he said.

He highlighted the 325th Operations Group's roles in exercises such as Red Flag and Combat Hammer, and in regard to the base's training program, he noted statistics from Fiscal Year 2008, such as the fact the base flew 6,853 sorties to train F-15C pilots, as well as 2,995 sorties to train F-22 pilots. In addition, 186 Air Battle Managers were trained, 24 of whom were international students, along with 175 special operations intelligence specialists.

In reference to the 325th Maintenance Group, he described how Tyndall is able to provide employment to many civilian contractors from the area, because as an Air Education and Training Command base, its maintenance community is not required to deploy as a unit, providing the slots for locally-grounded jobs.

He also lauded maintenance personnel's commitment to keeping Tyndall jets in the air by saying, "To put it in perspective, for every hour that we fly, that we're actually airborne, it takes 10-15 hours of maintenance."

Due to the multitude of projects falling under the 325th Mission Support Group, many of the group's exploits were presented.

He began by speaking on Economic Stimulus Funding received by Tyndall under the Obama Administration. The funding, totaling $23.3 million, which was almost immediately obligated to projects around the base within the first two weeks of receiving it, will help repair base infrastructure; only $1 million remains unobligated.

The projects range in size from simple painting and drain repair, to large-scale electrical repair work and ramp lighting improvements, with costs ranging from as low as $38,000 to nearly $5 million. All projects, in keeping with the terms of accepting stimulus funds, will generate employment for workers in the local area, proving to be "a direct impact," General Roberson said.

Next, the general spoke briefly of the details on an agreement between Tyndall and the city of Lynn Haven, Fla., involving a Finding of No Significant Impact where Tyndall will give back a portion of its land to be developed by the community in exchange for compensation.

This compensation will be used for three specific projects: to replace the Eagle Quick Turn Flight Kitchen, utilized by flightline personnel, to upgrade electrical supplies and sewer systems for the base's FAMCAMP, and to upgrade the base pool with solar heating, extending its use for more of the year.

From this, he segued to current military construction projects which are underway or have been recently completed.

He brought attention to the Phase III construction of the Killey Center for Homeland Operations complex and then shifted focus to the building of the new Tyndall fitness center, scheduled for completion in late spring 2010.

"[The fitness center] will be three times the size of the current one," General Roberson said. "We're talking $19 million to build a brand-new fitness facility for our Airmen. It's going to be what we need to keep them fit to fight and ready to go wherever we need them. On top of this, we believe it will be the first building in the Department of Defense which will qualify as a platinum-level green facility. What this means is we're maximizing energy and recycling to make this as green as we possibly can. Platinum-level is the highest you can go. No other DoD facility yet has reached this level. We're going to be the first."

He also mentioned repairs to the second of the two Tyndall runways. The $19 million repairs will once again enable the use of both; during the repair work, flying operations have been utilizing only the one runway. In addition, he noted the completion of a new F-22 Simulator Building addition and a new 120-person dormitory.

In regard to environmental issues, the general brought up a past Environmental Protection Agency report defining 39 Installation Restoration Program sites which had been previously identified. He pointed out the successes of drawing the number of them down since the report; only 16 remain active with investigations. Through Fiscal Year 2009, $14.3 million has been committed to restoration work.

After his discussion on the plentitude of projects handled by 325 MSG, he noted 325th Medical Group initiatives. Among them, were the group's push to make the entire installation tobacco-free; the 325 MDG facilities already are. Also stated were the group's solid commitments to continuity of care to provide the best medical services possible, as well as routine access to care.

Since the majority of the address dealt with 325 FW organizations, the general very lightly touched on base tenant units. Community members received general information on Air Force Northern Command, the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group, Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency, the Air Force Research Laboratory and 832nd Red Horse Squadron, Detachment 1.

Most notably, the general explained the shift at the 53 WEG from using QF-4 drones to using QF-16 drones within the next five years; QF-16s will simply come from retired F-16s, he said.

Afterward, Tyndall employment statistics were highlighted, including the 2,565 jobs currently employed here, making the base the largest employer in Bay County, and the average yearly influx of nearly $631 million to the local economy. He projected possible local economy profit of as much as $700 million from base employment and contributions this year.

He also focused again on environmental stewardship, noting out of 29,000 acres, Tyndall preserves 18,000 of them in their natural state in order to protect the base's 144 endangered species which make this their habitat.

Leading to the end of his address, he noted one of the keys to Tyndall's future is its offshore range airspace.

General Roberson also opened the floor to audience questions, and the evening culminated in an ovation after a community leader thanked the commander for presenting the information he offered. 

Event attendees then retired to a social where group commanders and tenant unit officials were on hand to answer any remaining questions those in the audience may have had.