Airmen prepare base for lasting presence

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Cassandra Locke
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  Several projects in various stages of completion at this Southwest Asian base will give Airmen an enduring presence and help them accomplish their mission supporting the war on terrorism.
 
Members of the 379th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron and 379th Air Expeditionary Wing force protection cell are currently devising plans to provide security to Millennium Village.

Millennium Village is a new area being developed that will house base members and facilities necessary to conduct the mission.
 
As part of the base's continued development, members of the 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron has been working on construction projects. Squadron Airmen are currently working on installing water mains and wastewater tanks, building sunshades, constructing foundations for an antenna to be set and they are constructing concrete pads for automatic meteorological sensors to improve base facilities.

Other improvement efforts include replacing asphalt with concrete, installing a fence around the antenna farm, repairing sunshades and constructing a warehouse facility that will provide adequate space to store replacement vehicle parts for the 379th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron transportation flight. The base soon will also have flood lighting on buildings as well. 

Among the projects currently taking place, other organizations are already in a progressive mindset based on their mission and structural facilities. The 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron "back-shops" are structurally prepared to stay for a long time. 

One is the 379th Maintenance Squadron's C-130 Hercules engine and propeller shop. This shop's members help reduce the shipping transit time and cost of the engines and propellers from the area of responsibility to the next repair facility at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, or the regional repair facility at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. 

Along with the engine and prop shop, members of the wheel and tire section from the 379th EMXS perform equipment repair for aircraft discrepancies, respond to in-flight emergencies, expedite clearing obstructed runways and are the centralized intermediate repair facility on wheels and tires for the entire AOR. 

"Our wheel and tire section has incorporated well into the 379th AEW and is capable of providing their service to the entire AOR from this location," said Master Sgt. Alridge Allsman of the 379th EMXS and deployed from Travis Air Force Base, Calif. "Our expert and timely actions are essential to 379th AEW aircraft launch capabilities."  

The wheel and tire section has replenished the supply system with more than 1,000 serviceable wheel and tire assemblies to date this fiscal year with a rotating crew of eight members.
 
"Through continuous improvement, we brought a new bead breaker online reducing teardown time by 50 percent and manning required from two personnel to one," said Sergeant Allsman. 

As the base fulfills its presence here with continued efforts, Airmen work hard to make this a better place to live and work.

Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link)

Click here to view the comments/letters page