Civil engineers plan for the future

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Orville F. Desjarlais Jr.
  • Air Force Print News
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AFPN) --  Expansion plans here have civil engineers drawing up blueprints for construction projects for next year, the next five years, even the next decade.

“We’re planning for the future so that 50 years from now people will be glad we designed everything right the first time,” said Lt. Col. Marvin Smith, 36th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron commander.

Projects must be completed to support continued bomber and fighter rotations and the base’s permanent tanker fleet. Nearby Northwest Field is turning into a training area, while the north ramp will include facilities for fighters, to possibly include the F-22A Raptor. The south ramp is reserved for a Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle mission.

There are about 3,700 military and Department of Defense civilians at Andersen now. They expect 2,400 more in the future.

“Because of the sheer volume of construction, we have to multi-phase the project,” Colonel Smith said.

So far, the plan encompasses fiscal years 2006 to 2016 and beyond. Plans include new hangars, a medical and dental clinic, a military working dog facility, water tanks and a Global Hawk maintenance complex. Down the road, Anderson officials also want a new bank, dining facility, maintenance facilities, dorms and base housing.

The plan is to divide the base in two. One section will be an industrial area near the air terminal and hangars. The other side will contain a new base exchange, theater and mall.

Civil engineers are designing facilities the way users want them built, like custom homes. For instance, maintainers get the chance to help design the hangars where they will work.

However, hangar design must support a wide variety of aircraft, a lesson civil engineers learned from the recently completed Hangar 1.

“Although it was built for the B-2 bomber, maintainers also use it for B-52 repairs,” said Col. Michael Boera, the 36th Expeditionary Air Wing commander. “We love that hangar. We were happy to find that we could use it that way.

“We need to be able to use these hangars for the joint environment that we’re in. It saves money and it’s smart,” he said.

This falls in line with Andersen’s mission: to project air and space power in the Asia-Pacific region. This mission involves multiple aircraft because the base also supports bombers and tankers that rotate in to help.

“Hangars aren’t going to be built for a specific aircraft,” Colonel Smith said. “A fighter hangar should be able to support any fighter aircraft. They are more generic hangars that may even have to support joint aircraft.”

The civil engineers are also challenged by the remoteness of the island. Not only do they have to design buildings that can withstand earthquakes and typhoons, they must also factor shipping costs and other island shortfalls.

“We’re confident we can do it,” Colonel Smith said. “And we’re going to do it with Guam’s environment in mind. We can’t do anything until we look at every angle of environmental impact. We are stewards of a habitat for endangered species.”

For civil engineers, the chance to re-build a base comes once in a lifetime.

“This is a great opportunity for us -- to be able to plan for the future -- it’s really unheard of for us,” said Capt. Jake Salmond, who works in base development. “It’s really exciting. When we come back years from now, we can see what it ultimately will look like.”