All the flyable F-22s were evacuated. From better reports I have read only four or five F-22s had to be left behind due to their condition.
Some people here think this is some kind of conspiracy, it is not.
First, The Air Force, like all the other Services, has a terrible budget shortage while the OPTEMP keeps rising. Like all the Services their equipment is just plain used up and there has been little money to fix or buy new.
Second. I have read posts here about just taking the wings off and trucking them out. These aircraft are not old WWII style airplanes. You can't just remove a couple bolts and cart the wings off the plane. It takes way too many hours of effort and many people to remove the wings for transport and then it would still be nearly impossible to get them on a truck.
Third. This was not a conspiracy nor was it incompetence. Hurricane Michael developed in just a couple days and then streaked up the Gulf. There was not enough time to disassemble the Hanger Queens and get transportation for them. All the bases have contingency plans but those plans cannot account for every possible iteration, also they must take into account budget and personnel constraints.
Your assessment seems right on to me. It’s just too bad that Tyndall took the hit it did. I was surprised though that they moved the F-22’s to Wright-Pat. I would have thought they would have been closer to home, but I guess it was the only AFB that was outside the cone of Michael’s path.
Hopefully, they will spend the money to rebuild and modernize Tyndall. As a former ground-pounder I hate to see any branch of the military not receive the funds needed to accomplish the mission.