Tyndall commander to speak at SGI Veterans Day ceremony
The St. George Lighthouse Association, in partnership with THE SGI Veterans Reveille Group and Apalachicola’s American Legion Post 106, is inviting the Forgotten Coast community to attend the annual Veterans Day ceremony in Lighthouse Park on Monday, Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. ET.
This year’s ceremony will feature special guest, U.S. Air Force Col. Tyler A. “Bjork” Niebuhr, as speaker, with the Franklin County High School Cadet Core providing color guard services.
Niebuhr is commander of the 325th Operations Group, 325th Fighter Wing, at Tyndall Air Force Base. The group’s mission is to project unrivaled combat airpower for America and establish the roots of its new F-35 mission on the way to standing up three combat-ready squadrons. The group also operates Tyndall’s airfield, controls 4,500 square miles of airspace, and executes Exercise Checkered Flag on behalf of the Commander, Air Combat Command.
Niebuhr entered the Air Force in May 2001 through ROTC as a distinguished graduate from Weber State University with a bachelor of science in applied physics. He graduated in 2003 from Euro-NATO joint jet pilot training at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas, and completed F-16 basic operational training course as a distinguished graduate in March 2004. He has held a variety of flying positions to include F-16 instructor pilot, FAC(A) instructor, and flight examiner. He previously commanded the 24th Tactical Air Support Squadron, at Nellis AFB in Nevada.
Prior to his current position, he was the combat air branch head at the Joint Air Power Competence Centre in Kalkar, Germany.
Niebuhr’s operational experience includes Operations Noble Eagle, Odyssey Dawn, Enduring Freedom, Resolute Support and Freedom’s Sentinel. He is a command pilot with over 3,600 flight hours, including over 190 combat sorties and more than 760 combat hours in the F-16. The aircraft he has flown include the T-37, T-38A, T-38C, F-16 and the F-35A.
The ceremony will honor all veterans. Seating is limited, so please bring your own chairs. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Collins Vacation Rentals and Century 21 Collins Realty will be sponsoring lunch, dessert and drinks for all in attendance, provided by Gormley’s Gourmet Catering Company and Pollywhogs. Additionally, the lighthouse will be open to everyone, with free climbs offered to all veterans.
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.