TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE — Bay County Commission Chairman Guy Tunnell has sent a letter to the commander of Tyndall Air Force Base asking that it clarify its proposed waterway access restrictions and he will be meeting with the base commander Tuesday.
The Friends of Shell Island, a group formed in 2013 in opposition to Tyndall Air Force Base’s waterway security plan, heard from members of the boating public of at least four incidents in which base security forces operated in off-base waters, patrolling waters near Shell Island and detaining a civilian even before the controversial plan is in place, according to the group.
Tunnell said in his letter to Tyndall Col. Derek France that he believes a compromise can be reached in which boaters and fishermen can enjoy the area waters and the base can maintain its security. The proposal under review would give Tyndall authority to restrict access to several popular bayous, as well as anywhere within 500 feet of the shoreline along the base.
--- DOCUMENT: READ THE LETTER»»
“We appreciate the need for Tyndall to take all measures necessary to secure the base from any imminent foreign or domestic threats, particularly considering the protracted political turmoil in the world,” Tunnell states in his letter to France dated Feb. 18. “However, it is critical that any new rules balance the Base’s security interests with the recreational interests of Bay County’s citizens and visitors.”
Tunnell added the people of Bay County “have for many years enjoyed the military’s presence and participation in our community.”
“They have always enjoyed freedom of access to waterways and shorelines of our bays and barrier islands,” he stated. “The needs of the Base can surely be aligned with the needs of our citizens.”
Tunnell’s move, which was requested by the commission, comes on the wake of complaints from local residents who allege the base recently overstepped its authority.
Stephanie Somerset, who leads Friends of Shell Island, said she appreciates the commission contacting Tyndall to support the needs of the citizens. “And we support Tyndall, and we believe their mission is very critical, and they are a very positive part of the community,” Somerset said Monday. “But we have already given Tyndall ideas to make this regulation fit better with the needs of the boating community. It would be ironic that when our troops are all over the world fighting for our freedom that here at home they are in danger of being eroded needlessly.”
Fisherman’s complaint: Last fall, Somerset filed a complaint alleging base security illegally detained a fisherman. According to the complaint, military police noticed a boater fishing in Crooked Island Sound on the night of Oct. 1 and waved him to the boat launch. The fisherman complied, and once he stepped onto land the police handcuffed and detained him for two to three hours, during which time his phone, wallet and boat were searched without consent or a valid warrant.
The complaint alleges police threatened him with arrest and asset seizure while he was detained.
William Molnar said Monday he didn’t go through that type of interrogation, but he was ordered by Tyndall police last May to leave when he was fishing in a popular spot near the boat launch. Molnar, who is retired from a 20-year career in the Air Force, said he was flounder fishing with a light and gig at about midnight near the shore of Crooked Island, as he had done many times before without incident. He said he even produced his military identification to get past a gate to the popular fishing spot, but when he came out of the water after fishing, two military personnel grilled him about what he was doing. He said they told him he was not allowed to fish there late at night.
Molnar said he went to his truck and produced a copy of the base regulations to convince officers they were in error when they told him fishermen could not be there after 11 p.m. He said the officer went to his car to call his superior.
“It went on for 15 minutes. He finally came back and he said, ‘You can go ahead and leave.’ I did leave,” Molnar said.
Tyndall public affairs officer Lt. Christopher Bowyer-Meeder said he was not familiar with the incident involving Molnar, but pointed out that the base was under a different commander at the time.
--- DOCUMENT: READ THE LETTER»»
“I can tell you fishing is still allowed near the outer base near the water,” he said.
He said there is nothing in the waterway security proposal that bans fishing there.
The proposal “is still a work in progress,” he said.