Volunteers at Patrick Air Force Base are loading up some 5,000 pounds of supplies to send to their brethren at Tyndall Air Force Base, the Panhandle military installation that was destroyed by Hurricane Michael.
“If somebody in the Air Force family needs help, we’re going to help,” said Lisa Fernandez, a volunteer leading the effort. “We have each other’s backs.”
Fernandez is a key spouse for the 308th Rescue Squadron, which puts her in a role of helping unit families. She and about 25 other volunteers spent two days last week sorting, stacking and packing what they estimated to be a semi-trailer worth of clothes, personal hygiene items, food, water, duct tape, flashlights, batteries and other items. It was all donated by local residents, mostly fellow military families but also some who are neighbors off the base.
In addition to the volunteer effort, the base is supporting a number of families who evacuated to Brevard County, Orlando and surrounding areas.
Public Affairs officials did not respond to a request for information on how many evacuees were being helped and what services were being provided, but several social media posts from the 45th Space Wing indicated evacuees were being supported by the base Family Readiness Center. In general, the center coordinates services such as emergency loans, counseling, child care and information on the local area.
Fernandez said the FRC had 170 open cases related to hurricane evacuees. “I have a feeling more will trickle in,” she said, as some who evacuated to Orlando are moving this way for lower hotel costs.
Due to the nature of the disaster, military personnel and their families who fled Tyndall will be reimbursed for at least a portion of their lodging and other evacuation costs until the base commander deems it safe for them to return permanently, or until they are relocated to another base.
Tyndall Air Force base is located about 15 miles up the Gulf Coast from Mexico Beach, where Michael came ashore. Some 3,600 airmen and 5,000 family members are attached to the base. Most live in the surrounding community of Panama City, or in base housing units.
Nearly every one of the 1,340 buildings on the base was destroyed or sustained severe damage, including housing.
No one knows yet when, or even if, Tyndall will be completely rebuilt. For now, personnel assigned to the base were allowed a five-day window from Wednesday to Saturday to return and collect any surviving items from on-base houses.
One airman who evacuated to Brevard County stopped by the Shark Center Thursday as he prepared for a quick trip back to Tyndall to survey the damage to his home. Fernandez said he filled the back of his pick-up truck with supplies to drop off at the base.
Meanwhile, as volunteers continued sorting and packing, they reflected on how easily “this could have been us.”
“It’s just the way we do things,” said Debbie Schiess, spouse of the 45th Space Wing commander, as she helped sort and pack clothing. “When one of our members is hurting, we’re all hurting.”
