A port in the storm; the Kriete family’s odyssey from Tyndall AFB to Patrick AFB

1st Lt. Adam Kriete, 337th Air Control Squadron student, and his family spend time with one another at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. Oct. 18, 2018, after being displaced from their home at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. due to Hurricane Michael. In the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, the Krietes relied on the Air Force and each other to overcome adversity. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Dalton Williams)

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A port in the storm; the Kriete family’s odyssey from Tyndall AFB to Patrick AFB

Debris lies in a yard Oct. 19, 2018 at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. In the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, the Krietes relied on the Air Force and each other to overcome adversity. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Dalton Williams)

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A port in the storm; the Kriete family’s odyssey from Tyndall AFB to Patrick AFB

1st Lt. Adam Kriete, 337th Air Control Squadron student, drives past a damaged baseball field Oct. 19, 2018, at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. In the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, the Krietes relied on the Air Force and each other to overcome adversity. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Dalton Williams)

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A port in the storm; the Kriete family’s odyssey from Tyndall AFB to Patrick AFB

A residential street in base housing is stricken with damage Oct. 19, 2018 at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. In the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, the Krietes relied on the Air Force and each other to overcome adversity. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Dalton Williams)

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A port in the storm; the Kriete family’s odyssey from Tyndall AFB to Patrick AFB

Published Oct. 29, 2018
By Airman 1st Class Dalton Williams
45th Space Wing Public Affairs

PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --

(This story is part one of four of 1st Lt. Adam Kriete, 337th Air Control Squadron student, and his family coming to Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. from Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.)

He thought it would be a Category 2, maybe a Category 3.

Hurricane Michael was a Category 4 hurricane, displacing approximately 11,000 people from Tyndall AFB including the Kriete family.

The Krietes brought three days of clothes and some necessities expecting to be back on base in a few days. Then, the bad news came.

Every home on Tyndall AFB was damaged, and residents would be unable to return permanently for the long term.

With dwindling resources and uncertainty in their future, the Krietes needed Wingmen.

They headed to Patrick AFB on Oct 9, 2018, uncertain of their future.