Remarks by the Vice President with Governor Rick Scott of Florida in a Briefing at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Let me -- if I can jump in. It may be a convenient moment at this point. First and foremost, let me say to Colonel Laidlaw, to Lieutenant General Williams, to all the leaders gathered here, on behalf of your Commander-in-Chief, we thank you for the strength and resilience of the men and women of Tyndall Air Force Base.

It's extraordinary to see imagery where just an entire region was impacted. And Tyndall Air Force Base could fit into the eye of the storm. I must tell you, being here with my wife, Karen, traveling as we did on our way here through the region, we're even more impressed and more inspired with the way that this team responded, Colonel, on very short notice as Hurricane Michael became a Category 4 storm and you addressed the 11,000 personnel here at Tyndall Air Force Base.

And I want to thank Governor Scott for his tremendous leadership, not only for those families and this base, but for the entire region of Florida was grateful for the strong partnership that we have forged. And I want to assure you, Governor, that we're going to continue not only to meet the federal obligations here at Tyndall Air Force Base, but we're going to continue to work very closely with you and your team and for all the families and all the communities impacted by Hurricane Michael.

I'm here today to receive a full briefing on the needs here at Tyndall Air Force Base. I'm also very pleased to be joined by the Secretary of the Air Force, Heather Wilson. As the Secretary said a few short weeks ago, we've already designated $100 million to help with the cleanup and recovery effort here at Tyndall Air Force Base and today is really about making sure that our administration has a direct appreciation for what the needs are here.

This is a vitally important base and you proved your mettle once again when Hurricane Michael came ashore, Colonel. And I hope you'll convey our admiration and the thanks of their Commander-in-Chief for all of your efforts in the midst of the storm and in the weeks that have followed.

I look forward to hearing more about what the real needs are here and ensuring that we address them in an appropriate way.

Governor?

GOVERNOR SCOTT: Well, first off, I want to thank the Colonel for all your hard work that -- I was here two days, or something, right afterwards and you can see just driving in how much you've already cleaned things up. And we're excited that the Vice President is here, and Karen came, and the Secretary is here.

We all know the importance of Tyndall to the mission of the military and I can tell you, on behalf of the state of Florida, we're going to continue to be a partner. We've been a partner since I got elected eight years ago, for our 20 military bases and our 3 unified commands, and we're going to continue to be a partner to do everything we can to bring Tyndall back. To make sure it fulfills the mission that it does for the security of this country. But thank you very much.

The President came here, I think, the Monday after and we did -- we flew over. We could see the damage. But I think what you're going to see is -- you're going to see damage here but you're going to see the hard work of the individuals that have come here to start the process of putting Tyndall into a position that it can fulfill its military mission.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you, Governor. And let me also say, we're so grateful for the efforts of Congressman Dunn and his team in helping us better understand what the needs are all across this region, including here at Tyndall. And we appreciate you and (inaudible) being here today and for the (inaudible) that you've shown to the military families here and frankly to all the families of this region.

With that, we'll continue to go forward. We'll have some comments outside after the briefing and have some announcements to make.

But on behalf of your Commander-in-Chief, let me just commend each one of you for the efforts that you have provided, the leadership that you showed in the midst of this storm. And I just want to assure you that we are with you and we will stay with you every step of the way forward, as we will with all the families impacted by Hurricane Michael.

So thank you all very much. We'll see you in a few minutes.