Tyndall Air Force Base officials have submitted their controversial waterways proposal to the Army Corps of Engineers, according to a news release from the base.
The proposal is not yet available for public view but will be published in the ‘upcoming months’ by the Army Corps.
“We have worked diligently to hear the concerns of our neighbors in Bay County through several venues,” Col. Christopher Holmes, 325th Mission Support Group commander said in a news release. “The feedback provided over the last several months assisted us in developing a strong proposal, which allows us to protect our people and assets during a threat and still allow everyone to enjoy what makes Bay County such a great place.”
In addition to conversations with elected officials at the local and national level, Tyndall met twice with the concerned group of local boaters known as Friends of Shell Island on base and hosted two town hall meetings in the community that had a combined attendance of more than 150 local citizens and elected leaders. The base also placed a copy of the presentation online, which received more than 200 views.
“Multiple classified security assessments conducted at Tyndall identified a ‘major concern’ regarding the 129 miles of coastline surrounding the base. That identification prompted base officials to develop a plan for mitigating threats to that coastline,” The news release states.
The original version of the plan included closing four areas around the base permanently. After a public outcry that version was rescinded and changed to include temporary closures in the event of a security threat to Tyndall.
“We felt there was enough confusion and concern over the proposal to seek feedback from our community where we live, work and play,” said Maj. Anthony McCarty, 325th Security Forces Squadron commander, who hosted both town hall meetings and two separate press conferences on the proposal.
The changes made include removing the four permanently restricted areas and placing up to a 500 foot temporary buffer around only the threatened coastline in the event of a security threat as deemed credible by wing commander based on recommendations of the Tyndall Threat Working Group, a group of subject matter experts.
Also, the base added a clause allowing individuals the ability to petition the wing commander to have access to the area during a security threat, McCarty said.
The Tyndall website will post the link to the Army’s COE page when the proposal is published for public comment on their site www.tyndall.af.mil.