Air Force training facility underway at NAS Pensacola

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PENSACOLA, Fla. (AFNS) --  Officials at the Naval Facilities Engineering Command-Southeast, in partnership with representatives from Air Education and Training Command and a construction conglomerate known as NTF, L.L.C., broke ground Oct. 2 for a new training instruction facility at Naval Air Station Pensacola.

NAVFAC representatives are working closely with Air Force specialists to design and construct the training instruction facility to meet their operational needs. The ground breaking signifies the official start of construction for NTF, L.L.C., a joint venture of Opus South and Whitesell-Green of Pensacola, Fla., who was awarded the $46 million contract in March 2008 for design and construction of a multi aircraft hangar and navigator training school classrooms.

"As we turn dirt today, we look forward to meeting the challenges ahead and celebrate a new era in military aviation training," said Maj. Gen. Gregory A. Feest, 19th Air Force commander. "The facilities that are built on this site will train our next generation of aviators."

The project is being built to accommodate the relocation of the Air Force's Combat Systems Officer Training School from Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, to meet the requirements of a Base Realignment and Closure 2005 decision. Airmen will be relocating to NAS Pensacola from Randolph AFB beginning in October 2009.

The facility design is well underway and will include a hurricane-protected, multi-aircraft training hangar that will be approximately 100,000 square feet. The hangar will include approximately 75,000 square feet of hangar floor space, 6,000 square feet for a fuel-cell maintenance bay, roughly 19,000 square feet for general aircraft maintenance, as well as training and briefing areas. Also included is a 52,000 square-foot single-story applied instructional facility that will include space for classrooms and six flight simulators. The facilities will be located at the main airfield.

Following the NAVFAC green program, each of these facilities will feature high-efficiency mechanical and electrical systems and will incorporate other "green" design features to achieve a certification from U.S. Navy officials that is equivalent to a U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, Silver rating.

The new training instruction facility is scheduled to be completed by November 2009. 

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