When Hurricane Michael made landfall in Florida's panhandle on Oct. 10, 2018, Tyndall Air Force Base suffered catastrophic damage. Tyndall is home to the 325th Fighter Wing--the "Checkertails"--and 55 F-22 "Raptor" jets, considered the world's most advanced fighter, most of which were flown to safety before Michael made landfall. The category 4 storm battered the 29-thousand acre base with top sustained winds of 155 miles per hour, leaving runways cluttered, hangars gnarled, bunkers battered, and, according an Air Force aerial assessment, nearly all of Tyndall’s 1,340 buildings, severely damaged. The base chapel lost its roof and will have to be demolished and rebuilt, says Father Longin Buhake, a civilian priest employed by the federal government to serve Tyndall’s Catholic population. In this edition of Catholic Military Life, the only official podcast of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, (AMS), Father Buhake, who serves with AMS endorsement, tells of the long road to recovery. He shares what he’s doing in the meantime to bring the sacraments and pastoral care to Catholics who remain on base in makeshift quarters during cleanup, repair, and reconstruction operations.
