Photo By Airman 1st Class Amanda Alvarez | U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Benjamin Spear, 325th Contracting Squadron contracting...... read more read more
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TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – Tyndall personnel tested their emergency preparedness during an annual hurricane readiness exercise, also known as a HUREX, simulating hurricane conditions and response capabilities during peak hurricane season at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, Aug. 11-14, 2025.
HUREX are designed to test an installation’s ability to respond quickly and efficiently to severe incoming weather threats. A HUREX simulates the storm conditions and the subsequent decision-making required from the earliest forecast warnings through potential evacuation orders. This is especially crucial for Tyndall, as it’s located on Florida’s Gulf Coast, one of the most vulnerable coastlines for tropical storms and hurricanes.
The Wing Operations Center, Emergency Operations Center and Unit Control Center worked closely together to coordinate and communicate throughout the execution of this HUREX. The EOC served as the primary information-sharing hub , hosting representatives from nearly every unit on base, directing response efforts, tracking resources, and communicating with the WOC in real time.
“At the EOC, the most significant activity that the base is doing as a whole together to get ready, is completing [HURCON] checklists that have been refined over the decades and are all based on real world experience,” said Master Sgt. David Rodriguez, 325th Civil Engineer Squadron superintendent of readiness and emergency management. “From there, it's everybody's job to brief the commander so he can make those evacuation decisions.”
Hurricane condition levels, or HURCONs, is an alert system ranging from 5-1 in severity, with HURCON 1 indicating the highest state of alert. The scale signifies how soon a storm is expected to impact the area, and each level comes with a corresponding checklist to help personnel plan, prioritize and complete their readiness tasks.
The exercise simulated a range of storm impacts, including wind damage, flooding, aircraft and personnel evacuation and eventually, base closure. The Base Recovery Element teams played a key role in preparing recovery routes to assess the simulated storm damage and report findings back to the EOC.
“The BRE is one of the biggest pieces post-landfall,” said Maurice Spikes, 325th CES emergency management flight chief and EOC manager. “Depending on what the storm brings, damage could be minimal [or not]. Our BRE team will run that to ground until they figure out the problem, whether it's a power line snap or a transformer blew up, they will work through the process until they figure out the problem and then address it.”
In 2018, Hurricane Michael’s devastation left a lasting mark on Tyndall, causing catastrophic damage, but it also cemented the importance of thorough preparation.
“Tyndall's experience with Hurricane Michael has transformed hurricane exercises from theoretical drills into realistic and comprehensive training events.” said Spikes. “These exercises now focus on damage assessment, communication, evacuation, personnel accountability and continuous improvement, all informed by the hard lessons learned from a real-world disaster. This ensures the base is better prepared to protect its personnel, facilities and mission in the event of future hurricanes.”
Hurricane season for Florida’s Gulf Coast runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, typically peaking mid-August through October. Stay up to date on Hurricane forecasts and preparedness information by checking out this page: https://www.tyndall.af.mil/Hurricane-Season/.
| Date Taken: | 08.13.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.19.2025 11:52 |
| Story ID: | 545949 |
| Location: | TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 43 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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