CSAF discusses construction projects in testimony

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski
  • Air Force Print News
WASHINGTON (AFNEWS) --  Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley met with members of the House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs March 29 to discuss the service's construction efforts.

General Moseley said the Air Force is committed to improving base infrastructure and lauded the progress the Air Force is making with privatized housing on domestic bases, as well as other construction efforts.

"Sound investment in our installations postures the Air Force to support our priorities of winning the global war on terror, developing and caring for our Airmen and their families, and recapitalizing and modernizing our force," General Moseley said.

While the other services typically leave their respective installations and conduct the majority of their operations from other locations, the Air Force generally launches combat missions from its bases. This illustrates the importance of improving or replacing facilities that are no longer sufficient, General Moseley said.

"The readiness of our force to fight and win our nation's wars, now and in the future, depends heavily upon the state of our operational infrastructure," he said.

New facilities at U.S. Central Command headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., will "enhance the Air Force's ability to deliver intelligence, maintenance and operational capabilities," General Moseley said.

In addition, the Air Force continues to fund more environmentally-responsible construction efforts, and the service is the number one purchaser of renewable energy in the nation. New Air Force facilities, both overseas and stateside, will continue that effort, General Moseley said.

The Air Force also is replacing older housing by allowing commercial companies to fund the construction because the Air Force "sees a direct link between combat readiness and quality of life."

"We are eliminating inadequate housing as privatization continues to be a success," the general said. "We're bringing homes to Airmen and their families faster than we otherwise would, using the normal military construction process. The quality of life we provide for our Airmen and their families is a distinct determining factor in how long they remain in our service."

Air Force bases also will see an increase in new fitness centers as well as child development centers, General Moseley said.

"Our goal is to replace at least one inadequate fitness center per year until we have the resources to do more," he said. This year will also see new construction for a new day care center at Patrick AFB, Fla., which will provide supervised care for 266 children, replacing a center established in a warehouse built in 1958.

The Air Force also is ensuring its facilities not only meet today's expectations, but will meet the requirements of tomorrow as well.

"Air forces succeed when they anticipate and are allowed to shape the future strategic environment and ultimately develop the capabilities required for the next fight," General Moseley said.

As such, some Air Force construction projects include:

- Operation and maintenance facilities for its fifth generation fighters, the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II, as well as facilities for some legacy fighters and for C-5 Galaxies and C-17 Globemaster IIIs
- Accompanying munitions facilities for Raptor and Lightning II crews
- Small-diameter bomb storage igloos at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, U.K. and Ramstein Air Base, Germany
- Hangars for C-130 Hercules aircraft at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., and Cannon AFB, N.M.
- Training facilities for tactical air control party Airmen on some Army installations
- Ground stations in Hawaii, Indiana and Massachusetts for processing and utilizing information from intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance space and communications systems.
- Depot repair facilities at Hill AFB, Utah; Robins AFB, Ga.; and Tinker AFB, Okla.

"As the Air Force continues to modernize and recapitalize, we will continue to wisely invest in our precious military construction funding," General Moseley said. 

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