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TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE — The Boneheads are back at Tyndall.
After three years of deactivation, the 95th Fighter Squadron, proudly nicknamed the “Boneheads”, is back at home at Tyndall Air Force Base awaiting the arrival of a new fleet of F-22 Raptors.
In total, the base will receive 24 F-22s from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico by April, a transaction that was delayed for about a year following a freeze in aircraft transfers in October, 2012.
The first six aircraft are scheduled to arrive at the base Jan. 6, and once the transfer is complete, Tyndall will hold the largest contingency of F-22s in the world.
Lt. Col. Erick Gilbert, commander of the 95th Fighter Squadron, said the transfer also will bring about 1,100 personnel to Tyndall, including 200 active duty maintenance, 200 reserve, 40 operations and about 30 pilots.
The new aircraft will be focused on a combat mission, Gilbert said, with pilots flying about 20 missions per day. Tyndall’s 43rd Fighter Squadron will continue flying 20 F-22 air dominance training missions per day, he said.
“Right now we have 31 F-22s that are dedicated to our training mission teaching F-22 pilots how to fly,” Gilbert said. “The 24 new planes will be dedicated toward the combat mission.”
For members of the Bay Defense Alliance, a nonprofit organization focused on supporting defense activity in Bay County, the transfer represents a culmination of more than four years of work.
“I think it’s remarkable in these economic times that we’re actually adding a mission to the base,” said BDA President Tom Neubauer. “Communities all over the country are just trying to hang on to what they’ve got and here we are plussing up, which is just unheard of.”
Following the 2008 Air Force announcement of a plan to retire its fourth generation fighters, including 48 F-15s from Tyndall, the BDA got to work, Neubauer said.
Utilizing state grant funds, the organization hired an expert who recommended a request for the Air Force to consolidate its F-22 training and operational wings at Tyndall.
“We had gotten to the point where we lost all those jets and we were down to 30 airplanes,” Neubauer said. “That’s when we started worrying. We had to get some more airplanes on the tarmac.”
A major turning point came in 2009 when the Air Force chief of staff and Air Force secretary visited Bay County for a BDA briefing that highlighted Tyndall’s potential as a fifth generation fighter base. The forum also was flooded with local leaders and organizations pledging their support for the defense community in Bay County.
Six months later, the Air Force announced its intention to transfer the F-22 operational squadron from Holloman to Tyndall.
Neubauer said the move will hopefully help Tyndall deflect future inclusion in the Air Force’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, a congressionally authorized effort to consolidate operations. Since 1988, the process has led to the closure of 40 U.S. bases.
“The things that communities do preparing for a BRAC are very important — making sure the missions you’ve got are strong, that they’re next generation missions, things that won’t go away, and that the community is supportive,” said Neubauer, who expects another BRAC in 2017. “I think we’ve mixed all of those ingredients.”
NEWS HERALD TOP 10 STORIES COUNTDOWN
10. Sunday:
9. Today: Arrival of F-22s, Air Force personnel