WASHINGTON \u2014 The Trump administration has vowed to rebuild Tyndall Air Base, the hurricane-ravaged home of the Air Force\u2019s F-22 Raptor training fleet, though it seems the Air Force faces a long road ahead, and the journey could be fraught with budgetary and political battles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence<\/a> visited the post Oct. 25 to announce the White House\u2019s intent to restore the post, where \u2014 according to at least one lawmaker \u2014 17 of the post\u2019s 55 F-22s used to train pilots for high-end air superiority missions were damaged when the post was struck by Hurricane Michael earlier this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPresident [Donald] Trump and I are committed to providing the resources necessary to rebuild Tyndall Air Force Base so that it can continue to be a vital and critical part of our national defense,\u201d Pence said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That decision is welcome news to the Air Force and Florida lawmakers like Sen. Marco Rubio who have lobbied the Trump administration to make Tyndall great again. The post not only plays a key role in the air defense of the United States; it impacts $2.5 billion in the local economy and 20,000 jobs in the surrounding Bay County, Florida, area, according to Gov. Rick Scott.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hurricane Michael, the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in the U.S., hit Oct. 10, forcing the evacuation of the post\u2019s 11,000 personnel, destroying facilities and disrupting its operations. The post\u2019s 325th Fighter Wing provides training for all F-22A Raptor pilots, and its 601st Air Operations Center provides aerospace warning and control for North American Aerospace Defense Command defensive counter-air activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said during Pence\u2019s visit that she plans to restore the air operations center\u2019s air defense responsibilities (transferred to another post a few hours before the storm), bring its 800 employees back and get it to initial operating capability by Jan. 1, 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n About 900 people \u2014 mostly security forces and civil engineers \u2014 have returned to Tyndall on assignment, and airmen and their families are slowly returning to the base to recover property and begin making insurance claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How long it will take the Air Force to reach its previous ability to maintain and fly F-22s at Tyndall is a question the service cannot answer, and there is no concrete timeline for the F-22s to return to Tyndall, said Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek. The service is still assessing all the damage to the base and will need time to make repairs to facilities or contract out for new construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, the Air Force will reactivate its F-22 simulators next month to restart pilot training, with student pilots making T-38 and F-22 sorties from Eglin Air Force, Florida, about 80 miles down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe can\u2019t fly aircraft out of Tyndall at the moment,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cBut by Thanksgiving, we will have F-22s in the skies over the Panhandle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n