Base Improvements

  • Published
  • By Col. Jamie Crowhurst
  • 22nd Air Refueling Wing commander
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  

Base Improvements:

What types of infrastructure changes are planned with end of year money?
· The chapel is getting new floors and furniture
· Electrical problems will be fixed
· Heating and air conditioning repairs and upgrades
· The aerospace ground equipment shop is getting $650,000
· Pools are getting repairs and updates

When will the swimming pool be completed?
· The indoor pool would have been done in the near future, but with the End of Year fallout money, McConnell funded extra improvements while the contractor is active on the project. This will add about 30 days to the contract, moving the expected completion date to December. The outdoor pool will be ready for its normal operating season in May.

What was the result of the review for BX/Commissary improvements?
· A contract has been awarded to expand the BX's east side to butt the Commissary's west side. The project will expand the existing shopping center by adding a food court and services mall. This will include a Charley's Steakery, Anthony's Pizza and Subs, and extended hours at Anthony's Pizza. The Commissary and BX will remain separate buildings, but will butt against each other.

What about a Popeye's?
· If you want change, you need to do two things - send AAFES your comments and bring your patronage. At the moment it is not in the plans.

When will 22nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron move to its new facilities?
· The 22nd Civil Engineer Squadron is still working through the preconstruction process of EOY project awards, so official project start/completion dates are not available yet. Earliest guess is March/April.

What are the plans to take down the basketball courts and make a new facility for Airmen?
· As for the basketball court demolition, a proposed idea is to demo the existing softball field, tennis courts and basketball courts across from the dorm area. The plan is to construct a new outdoor basketball court within the dorm complex area, and a new tennis court complex in the outdoor track/ballfield complex. No softball field will be constructed near the dorms because several exist in the athletic complex.
· The idea for the Airmen's facility was in the planning stages with the asset optimization working group. After talking with Airmen, they are not interested in the facility because it will require their custodial efforts. In general, feedback was that people are more concerned with moving out than having a place to hang out.

Are there any plans on creating a new confidence course for physical training use? The confidence course by Combat Arms Training and Maintenance area was closed down.
· There are plans to create additional running trails and outdoor activities in the rec area but there are no plans to rebuild a confidence course. An Airman died in 2007 after falling from a confidence course obstacle, causing most Air Force bases to remove their courses. http://www.lackland.af.mil/news/story_print.asp?id=123057189

Is there any chance we can get a nice rubberized 5K running track like the one at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (or Scott)?
· Maybe. It is being considered. In addition, renovations to the current Fam Camp are under the scope, and 22nd CES will be building a restroom/shower house near the base fishing ponds/pavilions as deployment training. This may give incentive to proceed with running track ideas within the KRA (evaluating potential for a 5K route).

Can we get Wi-Fi in the Gym?
· We will look into the possibility of Wi-Fi in the fitness center. Installation will depend on reception (sometimes phone reception is poor) and funding.

Are there plans for a new motorcycle safety range?
· No, that is an issue that has not been discussed in a few months. Space may become a problem for a large training range. Ideally we would use a 100 percent vacant parking lot.
· Any ideas? - The parking lot by Building 1090 is big enough and is usually pretty empty
  • However, Building 1090 will eventually be demolished.
  • Possibly the Commissary parking lot. The Commissary is closed on Mondays and could be available on those days.

When are they going to paint new lines on the road outside the front gate?
· The recurring contract to paint road stripes was cancelled. The 22nd CES has purchased the machine to paint the lines, but is now waiting for funds to purchase the paint and manpower necessary to complete the task.

Privatization Questions:

When will the next town hall/privatization meeting be?
· We were waiting for the project to be released for solicitation - that occurred on Oct. 8, 2010. The plan is to hold the next housing town hall in early November, but a date has not been scheduled.

How will housing privatization work? How will people move out/off base? Will there be forced moves?
· Although the current plan is to work corrections to the newly designated officer/enlisted housing areas by attrition, if in-bound personnel are impacted (wait-listed) as a result of this plan, the situation may need to be re-addressed. Housing is consistently about 89 percent filled. The demolition of 52 Capehart units will bring the McConnell housing area closer to its historical occupancy range and will free space for the privatization contractor to construct replacement homes.

What is the possibility of getting a Shopette in base housing for walking convenience?
· Right now, there isn't. The overpass walkway gets you pretty close to the shopette.
· Once we privatize housing, they usually hold a meeting with residents to get such suggestions.


Deployment Questions:

Movement to six month deployments?
· About 71 percent of the Air Force already deploys for 179 days at a time, the biggest difference will be the predictability of knowing the deployment will be six months and there will be extra time at home between deployments.
· In essence, Airmen who previously deployed for four months and were home for 16 months will now deploy for six months and be home for 24 months (a 1-to-4 dwell ratio is the Air Force goal). However some career fields will deploy more often. These deployments will be managed within the existing Air Force deployment band rule sets, ranging from a deployment-to-dwell ratio of 1-to-1 to 1-to-4.
· This policy does not affect individuals assigned as enablers. Enabler windows are considered "as directed," per Personnel Services Delivery Memorandum 10-54, released July 26, 2010
· Enabler and AEF tasking durations are set. The only flexibility we have comes with 60 and 45 day rotations due to DRMD issues.
· When it takes effect, the individual will not have a choice on deployment length. Each tasking has a specific duration tied to it. You get whatever length is tasked.

The last few 22nd Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle operations groups that have deployed on convoy taskings to Iraq have been told that they are the last group. When will this end?
· It is likely that convoy supply lines will remain vital in Iraq for the upcoming year. Based on the type of conflict in Afghanistan, the fact that the current supply lines are contracted, and the logistical limitations of the country (minimal improved roads) the requirement for vehicle ops may be reduced. This one is difficult to foresee. A lot may change in the near future with the upcoming elections.

What Air Force Speciality Codes will be tapped for the ramp up in Afghanistan?
· The taskings will be whatever the Combatant Commander deems necessary to complete the mission set he is executing and could change based on current operations. We would suspect more Expeditionary Combat Support type taskings to support the surge in combat forces.

Will Joint Expeditionary Tasking deployments increase like medical?
· I don't believe so because the overall requirement will be smaller.
What is the CSA card that may be coming in November?
· It is a preloaded travel card that will work much like a debit card. There are a few differences between it and the current Government travel card. All members will a CSA card regardless of credit history (no credit check required). A temporary spend limit, rather than a standard value, is set on the card each trip for use during the temporary duty. One-hundred percent of the estimated trip expense will be paid to card company (Citi) in advance of the trip (with small adjustments after the trip). The member will use the card for all expenses, and any residual balance at the conclusion of the trip can be withdrawn by the member for personal use. It will be used for all travel expenses including cash advances via an ATM.
· We had some units on base do a test run with good results. The Air Mobility Command Financial Manager now wants us to implement the CSA base wide. We still have a few details to work out, but the planned implementation window is November.


Public Opinion:

How did the air show go?
· The air show went well; we supported the community that supports us. Weather and parking problems were experiences that tested us, but teamwork pushed through with good results.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates spoke at Duke University and commented how the public does not physically support the war effort, and today, fewer people with military experience serve in Congress, but that will probably change in the future with experience gained in the last nine years of military involvement. To learn more, reference the links below.
· -http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2010/09/gates.html - article
· -http://www.ondemand.duke.edu/video/23687/us-secretary-of-defense-robert - video

What is your proudest moment as Wing Commander?
· I am a big "Team" person. At the open house I saw a lot of people come together to make things happen. Bringing nearly 100,000 people onto your installation is not an easy task, but a lot of hard work and cooperation made it work despite the lack of cooperation from the weather.

What are your goals over the next year?
· Using End of Year money to purposefully upgrade the base. We are spending a lot of money on the fitness center and the maintenance integration with the 931st Air Refueling Group and the infrastructure necessary to support it. In addition, 22nd Medical Group is working with the Veteran's Affairs Hospital on Kellogg to review the feasibility of building a new VA hospital on McConnell. This will greatly expand the training and experience opportunities available for our medics and give the VA the state-of-the-art facility that they need.

What are we doing to keep incident that happened at Fairchild AFB (poor inspection results) from happing to us?
· First to recap the incident, aviators from Fairchild were put on flight orders when they were not fully qualified to fly. After engaging with our operations group commanders and directors of operations, we are confident that our aircrews on flight orders are qualified and current. Remember, it is very important to always have good processes in place, not only when preparing for inspections.
· 22nd Operations Group Standardizations/Evaluations response: Our go/no-go process here is very solid, however, in upcoming squadron staff assistance visits, we will be focusing on documentation to ensure training folders are closed out, and flight evaluation folders/Forms 8 adhere to Air Force Instructions. It is particularly important for each unit to have solid, comprehensive process guides and continuity books to ensure these processes don't atrophy during these high-ops tempo times.

Is someone with HIV a deployable? If so, how are the dangers mitigated?
· No, HIV members are not deployable.
· The following paragraph is from AFI 48-135:
3.8. HIV infected Air Force members retained on active duty and Air Reserve Component members retained in the Selected Reserve must be medically evaluated semiannually, and assigned within the continental United States, and Alaska, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico. ARC HIV infected members may not be deployed outside of CONUS (except for Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico) or perform tours of active duty for more than 30 days duration. HIV-infected members shall not be assigned to mobility positions, and those on flying status must be placed on Duty Not Including Flying status pending medical evaluation. Waivers are considered using normal procedures established for chronic diseases. Members on the Personnel Reliability Program or other security sensitive positions shall be removed pending medical evaluation. Unit commanders, with medical advice from the medical facility commander, evaluate each individual on a case-by-case basis for return to PRP or other security sensitive positions. The Secretary of the Air Force may, on a case-by-case basis, further limit duties and assignment of members to protect the health and safety of the HIV-infected member or other members.

What is the latest on the identity theft victims at the Shopette/BX?
· The case is still under investigation by off-base authorities. There is no new information available.

Please recap operation Night Owl this past weekend.
· From 4 to 5 a.m. Oct. 2, 2010, we set up a random driving under the influence checkpoint at the front gate. Fifteen Airmen were checked with no DUI's given.

Drug Demand Reduction Program/ 22nd Security Forces : Recently, Team McConnell ran an "Operation Nighthawk,"affecting 15 military members from the rank of E-1 to E-5. What is an Operation Nighthawk, you may ask? Simply put, it is an extension of the Random Drug Urinalysis program, an inspection that the wing commander can implement at any time to ensure Team McConnell is indeed a fit and ready force. This inspection is inclusive of all branches of the military to include Reservists and Guard members on Title 10 orders. Basically, the wing commander chooses a randomly selected day, time, gate(s) and vehicle interval (e.g. every vehicle); all eligible personnel are issued an order to report to the designated location for a random urinalysis test.

Many people wonder why the commander would choose to run an Operation Nighthawk. According to the U.S. Deptartment of Health and Human Services, an estimated 14.8 million Americans are currently illicit drug users -- 77 percent of these users are employed. That's 9.4 million people. We all know that drug use is incompatible with military service. Inspections above the random urinalysis testing program such as Operation Nighthawk and dorm inspections help to ensure safety and security. Substance abuse lowers productivity and causes accidents and injuries. Employees who use drugs are 3.6 times more likely to be involved in a workplace accident and five times more likely to file a worker's compensation claim. Substance abuse increases absenteeism and turnover and increases an employer's medical costs.

In the 1980's 25 percent of our force tested positive for drug use. Today, we can be proud that less than one half of one percent of the Air Force members tested thru the Random Drug Testing Program test positive. Even that small of a percent can affect your personal safety and the safety of your friends and family.

To those 15 individuals who were affected, and to their families and or work centers, thank you for your patience, professionalism and courtesy during the operation. Be aware that this program can occur at any time to help us all remain safe, fit and ready to meet our nation's call. Team McConnell is a Drug Free Workplace.