Posted on 05/01/2019 11:43:21 AM PDT by Red Badger
Defense News
May 1 (UPI) -- Rebuilding of Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., devastated in 2018 by Hurricane Michael, stopped on Wednesday due to a lack of Congressional funding.
The hurricane caused nearly $5 billion in damage to the base, damaging nearly 700 buildings and forcing the relocation of 11,000 personnel and 46 aircraft. While already-contracted cleanup actions can proceed, all new work has been stopped and 120 projects expected to begin after May 1 have been deferred.
The Air Force budget for Fiscal Year 2019 has a $4 billion shortfall, and Congress has not appropriated additional funding for work at Tyndall AFB and at Offutt AFB, Neb., the site of a 2019 flood, Defense News reported. Although several disaster-relief funding bills are under discussion in Washington, solutions have been stalled by partisan disagreements.
Effective Wednesday, the Air Force must stop the arrangement of new contracts for Tyndall recovery efforts until supplemental funding comes through, John Henderson, Air Force assistant secretary for installations, environment and energy, said. RELATED Air Force establishes office at Tyndall AFB to guide five-year rebuilding process
Heather Wilson, Secretary of the Air Force, previously announced deferral of 61 infrastructure projects at bases across the United States, as the Air Force attempts to move funds to cover essential defense services.
"The supplemental funding and budget reprogramming requests are about more than just Tyndall and Offutt," said Wilson. "We're robbing other projects to fund minimal recovery efforts because Congress hasn't moved forward yet with recovery funding. The lack of funding now for these projects is impacting all of our bases. We'll continue to face natural disasters but we can't set the precedent of not rebuilding our bases following a storm like Hurricane Michael."
The Air Force will end intensive depot-level aircraft repairs in mid-May. The action would ground five bomber aircraft later this fall and create a long-term backlog for E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft maintenance. RELATED Tyndall Air Force Base on path toward normalcy post-hurricane
RELATED Air Force accepts first two KC-46 tanker planes from Boeing
Topics Hurricane Michael
It will take a long time to get Tyndall back to where it was.
I just hope they rebuild with current hurricane requirements for new buildings...................
This is a disgrace. Which Democrats are holding up funding?
ALL OF THEM.......................
The democraps have more important chit to tend to. Like orange man bad. Pathetic cretins everyone.
Start assessing a 50% TAX on Remittances and Overseas Transfers to PAY for it.
It’s time for our side, the stupid party, to call them out on this among other things. Democrap avoidance of critical defense infrastructure while pressing to remove our constitutionally elected and serving President Would make a first rate campaign ad if the Stupids would wake up.
The dims are more interested in funding the care and feeding of all their new voters coming from south of the border.
It should be rebuilt, but with new standards.
Most of the older buildings were 1960’s era..................
In addition, how about funneling all that money we send to third world hell holes back to the US for our infrastructure, wall, and repairing and rebuilding our military?
Now if the US GVT was a business they would make a good profit selling that prime real estate. However that won't happen, it would be like Ft Ord where the US Taxpayers paid the city of Monterey $600 million to take the land.
Coincidentally, (not) PDJT will hold a rally next Monday, May 8th in Panama City adjacent to Tyndall.
Between the loss of USAF personnel and Panama City residents due to destroyed businesses and homes, I suspect the 2020 census will show a marked decline.
This is partly due to Congressional rat intransigence.
PDJT will hammer the rats’ punishment of the GOP-voting Florida Panhandle in his usual understated style.
I live SE of Tyndall. Michael’s eyewall missed us by about five miles.
We rode 98 to Port St. Joe and Mexico Beach. Then up 71 to Blountstown and back to Ft. Walton via 20.........................
We live west of Port St Joe on Cape San Blas. Significant damage out here, but We missed the catastrophic damage of Mexico Beach by a whisker.
Tyndall needs to be rebuilt. It has always been a key part of our defense system. Our community has suffered great losses and for Tyndall not to be restored, we will be even further devastated. There have been no hurricane relief funds provided to help. It is like Cat 5 Hurricane Michael never happened as far as news coverage and it still looks like a war zone in many pockets. There are empty lots where homes existed, still hundreds if not thousands of blue tarps on roofs, (My 4 year old granddaughter counts blue tarps on the way to preschool everyday)Some people are still waiting to see if their home will have to be razed or can be repaired. Thousands have been displaced and gone to other areas to live and work, thousands more are living in RV’s and campers while their homes are repaired. Everywhere you look there are trees that are snapped off halfway up, trees that are out of the ground and thousands of tree stumps from many of them.
The rally is actually about 30 miles from Tyndall, on Panama City Beach.
We have lived thru 5 hurricanes, Elena(85), Erin & Opal(95), Ivan(04) and Dennis(05) and I have never seen as much damage and as widespread damage as Michael.............
Thinking of my time at Tyndall and “P-town” in 58 and 59 and the good fishing in the area.
You would not recognize the place now, even before the hurricane!.......................
Why waste the money. Re-open one of the closed bases and move the missions that were at Tyndall there.
Then court martial those responsible for not getting more of the planes to safety.
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