Region 4 FAS personnel lend a helping hand to Tyndall airmen

Tyndall Air Force Base after the storm -- Hurricane Michael caused more than $4.7 billion worth of damage to the Air Force installation when it hit the Florida Gulf Coast.

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When Todd Cook went to bed on the evening of Oct. 9, 2018, he and his wife planned to weather the then-category 3 Hurricane Michael from their home in Panama City, Florida. Like most residents of Florida’s Panhandle, they’d spent years preparing for the proverbial ‘big one.’ Little did they know that in a few short hours, those preparations would be put to the test.

“We didn’t realize that the hurricane had intensified (to a category 5) until we woke up the following morning,” said Cook, GSA’s customer service director for the Florida Panhandle. “At this point, we had no choice but to ride the storm out in our home.”

Cook’s home became just one of the many thousands of residential and commercial structures across northwest Florida damaged by Hurricane Michael’s 161 mile-per-hour sustained winds, heavy rainfall and surging floodwaters. Throughout the community, several of Cook’s friends and even close family members, such as both his son and his father, also felt the storm’s wrath. Few places, however, were as significantly impacted than one of the national most strategically important military installations—Tyndall Air Force Base, located roughly 12 miles southeast of Panama City.

Home to the 325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall Air Force Base is widely known as the training center for the F-22 stealth fighter jet, providing airmen with the necessary skills to pilot one of the U.S.’ most advanced avionics platforms. In addition to its importance to national defense, the base is one of the largest employers in the greater Panama City area, thus possessing an enormous economic impact for surrounding communities. During the early afternoon hours on Oct. 10, the eye of Hurricane Michael passed directly over the installation.

“My wife and I first visited Tyndall Air Force Base about 5 days after the storm passed,” said Cook. “Once we were allowed to travel toward town, we were shocked at what we were seeing before our eyes. All I could say was total destruction; everything had been destroyed.”

According to base officials, nearly every building on the Air Force base was damaged or destroyed by the storm. Base housing was rendered completely uninhabitable, leaving leaders unable to provide accommodations for the nearly 11,000 displaced personnel and family members. In total, Hurricane Michael caused nearly $4.7 billion worth of damage to Tyndall’s facilities and infrastructure.

Todd Cook, GSA Customer Service Director and Tony Roy, GSA Senior Contracting Officer

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Despite the impact on his home and the homes of his family, Cook knew Tyndall Air Force Base’s recovery was pivotal to the overall recovery of the Florida Panhandle. With the help of a colleague in nearby Pensacola, senior contracting officer Tony Roy, Cook began the process of reaching out to base leaders in their hour of need to let them know that GSA would stand with them as they rebuild the base.

“I have lived in the Florida Panhandle most of my life and have seen many hurricanes, but this was the most destructive storm I’ve ever seen by far,” said Roy. “Fortunately, we’re able to help Tyndall recover thanks largely to the long-term relationship we enjoyed with its contracting team for several years before the storm hit.”

Recognizing the need to quickly prepare temporary office space while recovery efforts continue, GSA Region 4’s CASE team worked with local Air Force contracting officers to procure basic business necessities such as office furniture, chairs and general workplace equipment. Additionally, Region 4 Assisted Acquisition Services received an urgent plea for help since several of the base’s contracting offices were forced to reassign staff to other military bases due to a lack of safe and secure living accommodations in the greater Panama City area.

In February 2019, Regional Commissioner Tom Meiron and Deputy Regional Commissioner Joel Rogero traveled to Tyndall Air Force Base in an effort to learn more about the recovery effort and to educate Air Force leaders on the many services that the regional Federal Acquisition Service can provide.

“As we toured the base and the nearby community, it was difficult to comprehend the sheer level of destruction, even when faced with the reality of it,” said Meiron. “Although they have a daunting task ahead of them, we wanted to make sure our Air Force partners know that GSA will stand with them throughout the recovery process.”

Under current projections, the base will be fully operational by 2023; however, more than 200 contracts need to be awarded before the end of fiscal year 2019 for recovery to continue on schedule. Though the task looks daunting, Cook believes that it is an opportunity to better serve GSA’s customers.

“As Tyndall rebuilds and recovers from this devastation, it’s very important for GSA to get involved to show our partnership with the Air Force base, with the local community and those that work for GSA,” said Cook. “This horrific devastation allows GSA to show what GSA can do as an organization to provide help to one of our finest service agencies.”