Bay Defense

Bay Defense Alliance is part of the Northwest Florida
Defense Coalition: The defense industry in Florida is generates approximately $60 billion dollars in economic impact, essentially equivalent to the state's tourism industry. According to the HAAS Center at University of West Florida, 46% of that impact is generated by the military in Northwest Florida. Utilization of the Gulf Range complex is one of the reasons for such a high concentration of military in Northwest Florida, but there are many reasons that Northwest Florida is such an important region for the Department of Defense. Since 2006,
nine installations in four northwest Florida communities have been  working together to ensure that regional bases are top of mind for the senior military leadership and our elected leadership. The Northwest Florida (NWFL) Defense Coalition meets annually with congressional and military leadership on
issues of common importance. While the coalition provides the BDA with an opportunity to work closely with our neighboring communities on issues of common interest, BDA members also
schedule visits with key leadership separately on subjects of local interest. So far, the coalition format has been successful for each of its member defense and economic development organizations. The most recent visit on May 12-13, 2010 was no exception. More than 60 members of the Coalition attended meetings at the Capitol Visitor Center, including BDA members from Bay County. The group was briefed on military issues by Senators George Lemieux, Bill Nelson and Congressmen Allen Boyd, Jeff Miller, Jo Bonner (AL), Adam Putnam, Jerry Moran (KS), Jim Cooper (TN), John Mica FL), and Tom Rooney (FL) on May 12, followed by military briefings on May 13. Additionally, each community group allocated time to meet individually with Congressional representatives, their staffs, and military leadership on local issues of importance. \

Bay Defense Alliance Receives $250,000 Grant Award
On June 29, 2010, the BDA was notified by the Governor's office of a defense infrastructure grant award to be used in the county effort to secure access to Lambda Rail, the advanced high bandwidth internet infrastructure for the benefit of our military installations as well as our education and medical institutions. The Bay County Board of Commissioners will administer the grant and the Bay County Economic Development Alliance will assist in its implementation.

Florida National Guard Adjutant General Retires: Major General Larry Arnold, (USAF ret.) represented the Bay Defense Alliance at the change of command and retirement ceremony for the director of Florida's National guard at Camp Blanding near Jacksonville. Major General Douglas Burnett retired after 47 years of distinguished service to the United States Air Force and the State of Florida. Florida's new Adjutant General selected by Governor Crist is Major General Emmett Titshaw. This change of command marks the second time an Air Force leader has been selected to head the Florida National Guard.

Combat Air Force Restructure Impact and Community Response: In May 2009 the Air Force announced its decision to retire 248 legacy aircraft as part of a critical cost cutting initiative. Although 17 bases would be affected by this reduction of aircraft, Tyndall Air Force base would be the most significantly impacted installation, losing 48 F-15s encompassing the entire air superiority training program. The announcement stated that all F‑15s would be removed  from the Air Force inventory by October 1, 2009, affecting Tyndall AFB four years earlier than originally planned. Much work has been done by the community, our congressional delegation and the Bay Defense Alliance to find a replacement mission. Clearly, our military is operating in a very difficult economic environment. The first defensive strategy was to slow the drawdown initiative sufficiently to identify and obtain a replacement flying mission and get the attention of Air Force leadership to increase awareness of the unique military value offered to the Department of Defense by Tyndall Air Force Base. This initiative was accomplished with significant effort by Congressman Boyd and his staff. On June 22, 2009, Congressman Boyd welcomed Air Force Chief of Staff General
Norton Schwartz and Air Force Secretary Donley to Tyndall Air
Force Base. After a private briefing, an outstanding delegation
of community leaders met the guests, presented resolutions of
support signed by every city commissioner and the Bay County Board of Commissioners. After the meeting, Congressman Boyd traveled back to Washington D.C. with the Air Force leaders to reinforce the community interest in securing a replacement mission as quickly as possible. Congressman Boyd teamed up with the community to execute a three part plan: 1. Slow down the restructure while a mission replacement could be identified and put in place. After earning the support of key congressional committees in both the House and Senate, this core strategy was clearly successful; 2. Obtain a commitment from Air Force leadership that other missions, including F-22 training, key tenant commands and other related training would not be relocated from Tyndall AFB. (This commitment was made by General Schwartz on November 17, 2009 in a meeting with BDA members and Congressman Boyd); and 3. Secure a commitment for a replacement mission to reduce the impact of losing Tyndall's 48 F-15s. In the months that followed, Congressman Boyd attended a series of meetings with General Schwartz and members of the Bay Defense Alliance "Tyndall Team" to map out a plan. The BDA also hired General William Looney III (USAF ret.) and retired Major General Andy Love to analyze
all viable flying mission alternatives, including F-22, F-35, adversary air and unmanned systems. A core strategy was developed and presented to Air Force leadership and these consultants promoted details of the plan at appropriate levels of the Air Force. This specialized support was made possible through the assistance of a Military Base Protection Grant from Enterprise Florida, Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development, as well as outstanding support from Bay County
Commission and local industry, including Tyndall Federal Credit Union and Gulf Power Company.  More than 1,600 volunteer hours have been logged by the Bay Defense Alliance since the initiative began. An announcement on May 26, 2010 confirmed that the Air Force had been studying a complete rebasing plan for the F-22 and that Tyndall was being considered as a site for an F-22 operational squadron in addition to its training wing. The Air Force site study team inspected facilities at several competing installations and arrived at Tyndall AFB in late June 2010. The next and most important step is for Tyndall to be selected by the Air Force as the best basing alternative for the F-22 operational wing. An official announcement of the Air Force plan is expected late this month. If selected,  Tyndall must work hard to prepare and the community must move the plan along as quickly as possible. Congressional support and the continued assistance of our consulting team will be important in making this plan a reality, hopefully, bringing an estimated 500 jobs back to Tyndall, and most importantly, securing a long term flying mission well into the future.

Congressional Naval Mine Warfare Caucus Reception
The Caucus Reception held at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in Washington DC on June 22, 2010 was well attended by Navy and Marine stakeholders, leadership from the NSWC PCD, several members of the Bay Defense Alliance, Caucus Co-Chair Congressman Allen Boyd and the Chief of Naval Operations, ADM Gary Roughead. This was the 10th annual meeting since the conference was formed in 1998 as part of the community strategy to ensure support by congressional and military leadership for the important work being accomplished by the Navy Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division. The scientists, engineers and military professionals at NSWC PCD lead the Navy's effort to develop advanced technologies in mine and littoral warfare and counter the growing asymmetric threat posed by sea mines.

Gulf Oil Drilling: This continues to be a critical issue for the Bay Defense Alliance and our counterparts across the state where key installations depend on unencumbered access to the Gulf Of Mexico Military Range Complex.  Oil companies have engaged a powerful lobby, spending more than $400,000 through November in an effort to add leases off Florida coastal waters to their balance sheets.  These organizations are suggesting that there could be up to $2.5 billion in economic impact to the state, and so far, the most significant conflict in this effort is the potential damage that could be done to Florida’s $60 billion dollar defense industry.  The BDA is working closely with Representatives Jimmy Patronis and Marti Coley, Senator Gaetz and others who are interested in considering this important aspect of the issue.  It is very important for the Bay Defense to represent the interests of Tyndall and Navy Support Activity Panama City as this initiative unfolds.  BDA board member Leon Walters has taken the lead on this issue, testifying October 21st before a house committee in Tallahassee with a briefing prepared by BDA member Chris Chace. Leon also discussed the issue in two radio interviews and is currently organizing a meeting with our elected representatives. There are significant missions at Tyndall and NSA-PC which could be negatively impacted by encroachment in the range.  Chambers of commerce, economic development organizations and defense partners in northwest Florida continue to educate their members and develop resolutions.  The most recent presentation can be viewed in PDF format.

 Navy JLUS: In cooperation with Bay County, the City of Panama City and the City of Panama City Beach, Naval Support Activity Panama City has recently completed the a joint land use study which was funded by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, OEA.  The implementation plan includes presentation and adoption by Bay County, Panama City and Panama City Beach which took place on 17 November at the County government complex. The product is a living document owned by Bay County which will provide a policy framework to support adoption and implementation of compatible development measures designed to prevent urban encroachment; safeguard the military mission; and protect the public health, safety and welfare.

F-15 drawdown status and Future Training: The Combat Air Force restructure plan will retire (112) F-15s, (134) F-16s and (3) A-10 aircraft next year, and 48 of the F-15s are based at Tyndall AFB. While Congressman Allen Boyd was able to insert language in the House defense authorization and appropriations bills that would force a delay in the restructure plan pending further study, there is no language in the Senate authorization bill to support the delay. The BDA is working closely with Senator Nelson and his staff to encourage the Senator’s support for any proposed amendments that might echo the House authorization language. The conference of these bills is ongoing through September 30 and we will continue to seek Senate support for the delay. Any slowdown in the departure of Tyndall’s F-15s will help close the time gap between the loss of F-15s and arrival of the next generation aircraft. F-15 air superiority pilot training will, however, continue to support the remaining F-15Cs in the Air Force, and current Air Force plans are to continue the training at Kingsley Field, and Air National Guard unit located at the Klamath Falls airport in Oregon. Congressman Boyd has also included language that would require the Air Force to provide a study which supports the ongoing training at Kingsley versus Tyndall AFB. This authorization language must also be incorporated into the Senate authorization bill to become law. It is unlikely that the Air Force will direct aircraft movements from Tyndall until the Congressional language is final and the FY2010 President’s Budget is signed, perhaps in the spring of 2010.  

F-35 Short List:  On 28 October BDA was notified that the Air Force set a time on 29 October 09 to brief congressional staffers on the selection results.  BDA subsequently received notification from Allen Boyd’s and Senator Nelson’s offices during the briefing that Tyndall was not named as either an operational or training base for the F-35.  The operational bases named were Eglin AFB (as originally designed per the BRAC language and EIS), Luke AFB in Arizona and Holloman AFB in New Mexico.  This confirmed what we were hearing about the AF interest in bedding down the aircraft in the western ranges.   Tyndall was named in the top 1/3 of all installations considered and scored very high against both FTU and operational criteria.

Defense Consulting Group: On 16 October 2009, the Bay Defense Alliance Tyndall Team met with General Bill Looney (ret) and MGen. Andy Love (ret) at the Panama City offices of Applied Research Associates to discuss BDA strategies for securing a future flying mission at Tyndall. The BDA presented a summary of the current status of the flying mission at Tyndall and our efforts to delay the CAF restructure while we pursue a follow-on mission for the F-15.  General Looney’s recommendation was to pursue operational F-22 aircraft and grow the F-22 presence at Tyndall, noting that Air Force leadership supports the desert ranges for the F-35, as its primary role is air-to-ground.  This coupled with the fact that Eglin already has the F-35 schoolhouse and limited ground range capacity further reduced the chances of being selected.  

Navy JLUS: In cooperation with Bay County, the City of Panama City and the City of Panama City Beach, Naval Support Activity Panama City has recently completed the a joint land use study which was funded by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, OEA.  The final draft was reviewed recently by the Policy Committee and is to be completed September 30, 2009. The implementation plan includes presentation to a joint commission comprised of Bay County, Panama City and Panama City Beach Commissioners. The product is a living document owned by Bay County which will provide a policy framework to support adoption and implementation of compatible development measures designed to prevent urban encroachment; safeguard the military mission; and protect the public health, safety and welfare.

Community Capacity Analysis: One of the important considerations by the Department of Defense in each legislated BRAC process is the surge capacity of an installation in the event of contingency as well as the ability of the installation and surrounding community to accommodate growth. Recognizing the importance of having this information readily available, Larry Dantzler requested the assistance of Florida State University Panama City Campus to update a community capacity analysis in 1994 and 2004. Recently BDA member Leon Walters initiated a similar request for an updated document.  The 2009 draft was completed by Dr. Jeanne Dexter’s Organizational Behavior class and was presented to the BDA Board by Mr. Walters. Special thanks to Dr. Dexter, FSU-PC and the following participating students, Tomila Benefield, Jeff Boutwell, Jaclyn Brodie, Richard Gravatt, Jade Hatcher, Zack Hoskins, Donald Johns, Alicia Lynch, John Madden, Sam Salih, Andrew Smith, Brianne Starkey, Mandy Williamson. The document can be viewed on the BDA website.

September 2009 Defense Grants: Thanks to the efforts of BDA support team, Deloitte, and the oversight of Larry Dantzler, the BDA has secured a 2009 Military Base Protection Grant in the amount of $42,500. The funds will be used to help with the cost of engaging specialized defense consultants. The BDA has also secured a Defense Reinvestment Grant in the amount of $130,316 to be utilized in accordance with the BDA plan of work. This is the largest Defense Reinvestment Grant award in the state this year and is provided through the Office of Tourism Trade and Economic Development, as our community had the highest score in terms of priority. The BDA also applied for a Defense Infrastructure Grant request to help with the efforts to bring LambdaRail Internet access to Bay County – only three counties prevailed in this grant category as 2010 funds are very limited. Bay County provided a $20,000 grant to help match the Florida Military Base Protection Grant and $10,000 toward operations.

June 22 Air Force Leadership Visits Tyndall AFB:  Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz spent the day at  Tyndall AFB on June 22, 2009.  After spending the morning addressing the troops and touring the base with Congressman Boyd, the Secretary and Chief attended a lunch with military leadership, Congressman Boyd, and Bay Defense Alliance Members.  The BDA briefed the visitors on the key attributes of Tyndall that make the installation ideal for F-35 pilot training. Following the brief, General Roberson hosted a small group of community leaders and elected officials who presented resolutions or letters of support from EVERY city Mayor and Commissioner executed by ALL  county Commissioners. The Secretary and Chief then answered questions from the group about the future of Tyndall .

June 9, 2009 Navy Congressional Mine Warfare Caucus: Bay Defense Alliance members attended the Congressional Navy Mine warfare Caucus Reception in Washington DC.  "The conference was one of the best ever," said Leon Walters, former SES at NSWC-PCD, "it was good to hear from the Chief of Naval Operations and his commitment to mine warfare and he important missions in Panama City."   The CNO, Congressman Boyd and other leaders addressed the conference, thanking the men and women of the Navy and all the support contractor for their outstanding contribution to national defense.  Attending the conference were Leon Walters, Glen McDonald, Tom Neubauer, Larry Dantzler, Lisa Walters and Sean Corscadden.

City and County Letters of Support for F-35 Mission: We should be very proud of the fast response by our city and Bay County commissions to a BDA request for resolutions in support of basing F-35 aircraft at Tyndall AFB.  These letters are addressed to Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and copied to Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz.   The BDA had already received letters of support from Bay County Board of Commissioners, City of Panama City, City of Mexico Beach, City of Lynn Haven, the City of Parker and is pursuing letters from the from the Cities of Springfield and Panama City Beach to complete the collection which now demonstrates unified support from every Mayor and Commissioner.

May 27-28 Florida Defense Alliance Meeting in Jacksonville: Member of the BDA are planning to attend the semi-annual Florida Defense Alliance meetings at Jacksonville Naval Air Station on 28 and 29 May 2009.   The meeting enable the organizations that support Florida’s defense communities to share important information and work together to advance legislation for the benefit of Florida’s military members.  Additional information about the meeting is available at www.floridadefense.org.

Mine Warfare Symposium: Another successful mine warfare conference was held at the Bay Point Marriott on May 18-19.  As always, board members Pete Mallory, L-C Communications is taking the lead to ensure that interested BDA members will have access to some or all of the events.  Military Affairs Chairman Andy Phillips will host an event for the conference attendees on Tuesday May 19^th at the Marriott.  More information about the conference can be found at

Northwest Florida Defense Coalition May 13-14 D.C. Visit:  Members of the BDA attended the annual Northwest Florida Defense Coalition Fly-in on 13-14 May.  Congressional briefings to the group included presentations by Congressman Allen Boyd, Congressman Jeff Miller, Congressman Ron Klein (FL 22^nd Dist);  Senator Mel Martinez, Senator Bill Nelson, Congressman Jo Bonner (dist 1 Alabama) and Congressman John Mica (FL 7^th Dist).  All presentations included commentary on key weapons systems, DOD budget and other issues of interest to NW Florida.  Pentagon speakers included Col Mark Gorton Deputy Commander, 7^th Special Forced Group US Army Special Operations Command relative to the pending relocation to Eglin AFB;  Capt Michael Good, program manager for the Littoral Combat Ship Mission Modules (PMA 420) provided an excellent presentation on the status of LCS 1-3.  It has been rumored that LCS-1 may visit the Panama City area in fall 2009 unless the craft is directed to immediately the join the fleet.  Mr. Dan Kunex, Director of Air System Integration for the F-35 JSF program over a detailed overview of the fairly complex beddown timetable.  Col Schwarts, from the office of the Deputy Asst Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, presented a brief on Air Force priorities, MILCON and stimulus funding, status of the JSF supplemental EIS, housing privatization status, EUL projects and the Lynn Haven fuel depot MILCON exchange. Vice Admiral Michael Vitale, the new Commander of Navy Installations Command offered a global perspective on issues affecting Navy installations.

May 7, 2008 - Defense Budget: The defense budget proposal was released by the pentagon on May 7, 2009 and  included the anticipated cuts that will impact Tyndall AFB.  If passed by Congress, the budget will end the F-22 program after production of 187 aircraft; retires 250 F-15, F-16 and A-10 aircraft which would remove all F-15s from the ramp at Tyndall during FY 2010.  While there is still some potential that congress will not accept all aspects of the budget, AF and congressional consensus seems to concede a high probability that we will see these cuts occur despite strong opposition from a significant number of congressional representatives. 

April 15, 2009 - Congressman Boyd Meeting with SECAF and AF Chief of Staff: Congressman Boyd and his staff have been pro-active in dealing with the potential loss of Tyndall’s F-15 training mission and pursuit of additional mission.  On April 14-15 2009, BDA members visited Congressman Boyd to discuss core issues at TAFB prior to the congressman’s meeting with Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz.  The team also visited the offices of Senator Nelson, Senator Martinez, Congressman Miller and Congressman Young to confirm ongoing support for the F-15 issue.

 TAFB Utilities Issue: Tyndall AFB and Bay County utilities continue to work through an ongoing water rate dispute that was publicly noted on April by the Bay County Commission.  A subsequent meeting on 24 April 2008 by Tyndall engineers and contracting officers and the county manager and staff was held to discuss the ongoing water contract controversy.  The county alleges that TAFB has failed to pay the increased cost of water which began to accrue to a total of approximately $250K since 2007.  Tyndall’s position is that the base has been paying the rate and amounts TAFB is contractually obligated to pay, as there has been no new contract executed between the parties. Bay County contends that contract language provides for appropriate rate increases.  Based on the discussion it would appear that Tyndall and the county will come to a mutually acceptable agreement soon.

HB 1219 – Florida House of Representative Oil Drilling Legislation: Within hours after learning about proposed HB 1219, the Chamber of Commerce, EDA, our community was engaged in the process in order to assure protection of the Gulf Range military mission areas.  Special thanks to Lisa Walters who worked tirelessly with representatives Marti Coley and Jimmy Patronis to submit suitable language, and to Alisa Kinsaul, chair of the Bay County Chamber State Government Committee / Director of Communications for ARA, and Carol Roberts for identifying the problem and staying with the effort until the bill was passed.  Although Lisa’s preferred language did not survive all iterations of the effort, the bill was improved with some protective language.  Fortunately, sister legislation never materialized in the Senate in this session.

Tyndall F15 issue / Governor Crist Support: As you are aware, the BDA has continued to pursue a favorable outcome to the proposed move of F15s from Tyndall in FY 2010.  While the Air Force initiative to retire many older F-15s continues to move forward, Tyndall is one of the bases that will be most impacted by the loss of two full squadrons comprising the F-15 school house.  In addition to building a white paper that provides evidence of Tyndall’s ability to accomplish the F-15 air superiority training mission better than any other source, efforts are being made to discuss timetable options with the National Guard Bureau and Air National Guard, hopefully delaying the action until additional mission can be placed on the ramp at Tyndall.  As part of this effort, key members of the Florida delegation have been engaged on our behalf, as well as Governor Crist.  On 17 March 2009, Jimmy Patronis arranged a meeting with the governor’s office.  The governor’s support included a personal letter to key Florida legislators requesting help in identifying authorizations or appropriations that could facilitate the move.  A copy of the governor’s letter can be found at www.panamacityera.com/bda/govletter.pdf . 

BDA Board Meeting Focuses on Priorities relative to TAFB F-15s: Based on the uncertain future of Tyndall’s flying missions, the BDA executive committee and subject matter experts met on April 20, 2009 to discuss various scenarios, priorities and best course of action.  Per discussions on the April 15, 2009 full board meeting, the organizations first priority is to focus BDA resources on the long-term health of missions at Bay County installations.  Of primary concern is the potential beddown of the 54 F-35 aircraft not included in the controversial record of decision at Eglin.  The decision to base the additional aircraft at Eglin or another installation will be determined through implementation of a supplemental EIS which may be completed in summer 2009.  The second highest priority would be to devote resources on the pursuit of additional mission which installations leadership deems compatible with current mission.  Our third priority would be to affect the timing of the F-15 drawdown.  

Littoral Warfare Systems Facility Gound breaking: Bay Defense Alliance members joined Navy officials and other members of the community for a groundbreaking ceremony for the Littoral Warfare Systems Facility on December 11th. The new facility was specially designed for the research, development, testing, evaluation, integration, acquisition support, and certification of littoral warfare systems.

The new facility features a drive through high bay with a 15 ton bridge crane, specialized rooms, offices for 100 personnel, a roof top antenna mounting platform, three computer labs with raised floors, three system integration labs, storage, and a large conference room.

The Littoral Warfare Systems Facility will enable teams from the NSWC PCD to collaborate in one building, increasing the integration of functions and personnel, as well as, consolidating the mission package facilities. The LWSF is also expected to provide a fully integrated computing environment and drive –thru module handling capability.

The facility will be located at the corner of Solomons Drive and Sandpiper Road at Naval Support Activity Panama City. The contractor selected to oversee the project is Harry Pepper Associates of Jacksonville, Florida. The facility is expected to be complete in November 2009

Navy Region Southeast Change of Command

Rear Admiral Townsend G. “Tim” Alexander relieved Rear Admiral Michael C. Vitale, who has held the position as Commander of Navy Region Southeast since October, 2007.

The Southeast Region is the largest of the Navy’s regions, which covers approximately 20 percent of the Navy’s holdings. Navy Region Southeast leads shore installation management support and execution for 21 Naval  installations throughout the Southeast and the Caribbean, including Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

RADM Vitale was commended for his response to  Hurricanes Gustav, Hanna, and Ike. Under RADM Vitale’s leadership, CNRSE became one of the Navy’s leaders in hurricane preparedness and support.

RADM Vitale has been promoted to Vice Admiral and will relocate to Washington, DC, to assume his next assignment as Commander, Navy Installations Command. In his new position, RADM Vitale will be responsible for 13 regional commands including the Southeast and 79 installations worldwide.

“In my new job,” RADM Vitale said, “all regions will be treated equally, but while I can, let me say that no one beats Navy Region Southeast.”

RADM Alexander received his commission in March 1981, upon completing Aviation Officer Candidate School. He was previously assigned as Commander, Navy Region Hawaii and Commander, Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific, serving in both positions since August 2006.

Bay Defense Alliance board members, Tom Neubauer, L.N. Dantzler, and Leon Walters traveled to NAS Jacksonville to attend the Change of Command ceremony.