CES Airmen work so others can relax

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Laura L. Valentine
  • 22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
MCCONELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  Airmen from the 22nd Civil Engineer Squadron are putting their skills to work at the Krueger Recreation Area, creating a new family camp.

In conjunction with the Outdoor Recreation Department, construction is underway to relocate the 10 fam-camp slots located on the south end of base.

The relocation will move the slots adjacent to fishing ponds, shaded areas, a picnic area and playground. The new location offers larger concrete pull-through slots to accommodate RV models with pop-outs and awnings, as well as full hook-up services - water, sewer and electricity.

There are so many people who live in their RVs and travel the country. We want to give them a nice place to stay while driving through the center of the country, said Rick Grenier, Outdoor Recreation Department assistant manager.

"The new slots are more visually appealing," said Grenier, "and safer with no main road directly in front."

The project began in November 2011 and is scheduled to be completed by the July Fourth weekend, 2012.

"The entire project in being completed with in-house labor," said Ronald Calabretto, 22nd CES Operations deputy chief. "Two reasons for that are lower cost and training for our people."
While civil engineer Airmen are busy on a daily basis with small projects around base, a larger job such as this garners more experience and is a welcome change of pace, said Calabretto.

Engineering "Site D" laid out the parking positions and mapping, the Pavements and Structures shops are doing the concrete and ground work, the Electric shop is doing all the plug-in stations for the RVs, and our Utilities shop will be doing drains and water supply, said Calabretto.

"Civil engineers are out there every day doing jobs that improve this base," said 1st Lt. Tiffany VanDenBroeke, 22nd CES executive officer, "especially those kinds of jobs that might appear on the show 'Dirty Jobs."

Diverse in their training, Airmen of the 22nd CES perform duties ranging from swashing around concrete, laying sewer or electrical lines and using measuring tools to ensure accuracy - down to the millimeter, said VanDenBroeke.

"Doing projects keeps the skills of engineers sharp for when they are really put to the test in a deployed environment," said VanDenBroeke. "In a deployed environment, our structures guys lay entire runways. So doing a few concrete pads for the KRA is a nice way to continue using their skills, while getting a chance to do some work outside."

"We want to make this a nice area that can be enjoyed by all," said Calabretto.