New buildings on SJAFB will be ready for new squadron, personnel by June 2009
By Kenneth Fine
Published in News on September 3, 2008 1:45 PM
Construction projects associated with Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendations are well under way on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, and by this time next year, all three facilities associated with them are expected to be complete.
News-Argus/Greg Sousa
Crews from local construction firm Daniels and Daniels expect this building and two others to be completed on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base by this time next year. Once finished, the squadron operations building, simulator building and corrosion-control hangar will support the 916th Air Refueling Wing's new active-duty unit, the 911th Air Refueling Squadron.
Daniels and Daniels Construction Co. project manager Jeremiah Daniels said he expects members of the 916th Air Refueling Wing to begin utilizing the buildings -- a squadron operations building, simulator building and corrosion-control hangar -- by next June.
Structural steel work has already been completed on the squadron operations building, which Daniels expects to turn over to the Air Force April 30.
And completion of the hangar that will help support eight KC-135R Stratotankers will mark the culmination of the $23 million project by the end of June.
But swift progress being made on those sites is not the only reason the local firm is feeling good about the project.
Daniels and Daniels recently received a safety award from the Army Corps. of Engineers -- beating out a "competitive class" of crews working projects in the $10-to $50-million range -- for a feat of more than 40,000 man hours without accident or incident.
But for Daniels, there is another aspect of the project that keeps his crews smiling -- knowing that their hard work will leave an impact on a base known for protecting freedom.
"We're dealing with lieutenant colonels, chiefs and sergeants all the time. Those guys are great to work with," he said. "Knowing that we're providing a quality building for them, when you step back and look at it, it's great."
And it's "great" to hear what their work is supporting with each F-15E Strike Eagle takeoff and flyby they witness from sites on Seymour Johnson.
"That's some feeling," Daniels said. "We know why we're out there."
The project, designed to support the 916th's new active-duty unit, the 911th Air Refueling Squadron, was awarded to Daniels and Daniels earlier this year.
Activation of the 911th was another BRAC recommendation and has resulted in the addition of 260 full-time and 104 part-time airmen and eight KC-135s from Beale Air Force Base.
Flight crews, medical and life support personnel, maintainers and others from bases across the country are among them.