PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- Growing up and now raising a family in the Cove area of Panama City, directly across St. Andrew’s Bay from Tyndall Air Force Base, flyovers from F-15s, F-22s and T-38s that trained with them have never ceased to captivate me, my family and my neighbors. As their roaring jet engines grow louder, we unfailingly stop and gaze toward the sky, trying to locate the source of the “sound of freedom.”
As an adult, I have had the opportunity to go through the Base’s Honorary Commander Program and serve in the leadership of the Bay County Chamber of Commerce’s Military Affairs Committee. These positions have given me the privilege of meeting and learning from the Airmen serving at Tyndall AFB. Through the Bay Defense Alliance, I’ve seen the enormous amount of effort our community exerts to protect and enhance our base and to ensure Airmen and families stationed here feel welcome and supported.
Before Sept. 9, I would not have thought my appreciation for the time and resources spent on both sides of the fence to see our base succeed could be any greater. That morning, a member of Tyndall drove me from Panama City to Eglin AFB for a flight in a T-38. Prior to that, I had several hours of flight physiology and cockpit egress training, all of which, on the drive over, I was both trying to remember and praying I wouldn’t need. On arrival, I spent an hour getting fitted for a flight suit by a team of very diligent young Airmen, followed by an additional hour of survival training. I met my pilot, Lt. “Claw” Pennell, who briefed me on our flight for that afternoon. Before I knew it, we were in the jet and on the runway, preparing to takeoff.
Almost immediately after being cleared by the tower, we were vertical and the clouds were soon behind us. With both confidence and exhilaration, Pennell performed a long, slow loop, pulled 4 Gs [an increased gravitational pull] and did a succession of aileron rolls. She allowed me to perform a couple of the latter myself. I quickly realized we were both better off with her in control of the plane. We flew over Tyndall and Panama City after we finished with the acrobatic part of our flight, then cruised back to Eglin along the beach, landing safely after 45 minutes in the air.
The experience of flying in a T-38 and the process to prepare me for it, has made me even more awed by the physical exertion, the depth of training and the mental acuity our pilots possess as they protect our country. The enormous amount of effort and professionalism demonstrated by the team of Airmen who support and enable them to carry out the mission left me impressed. It also allowed me to witness firsthand an example of the “payoff” for the efforts Tyndall and the citizens of Bay County make every day to ensure our base thrives. I got a glimpse into the result of decades of partnership between the military and our community: Airmen, both on the ground and in the pilot’s seat, training and preparing to defend our country, right here in Bay County. I couldn’t be prouder of what we have all accomplished, and what we will do together in the future.