Delegation receives brief on military construction

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jacob Morgan
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  The Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce hosted their annual military-construction breakfast for military, business and political leaders of Delaware Oct. 17 at The Landings Club at Dover Air Force Base, Del.

The goal of the briefing was to bring local community members, the Delaware congressional delegation and military leaders from Dover AFB together to give an overview of construction on base and talk about future plans.

According to John Scleski, programs flight chief for the 436th Civil Engineer Squadron, the military-construction breakfast has been an annual event for more than 15 years and has always highlighted the future years' defense requirements, which the base has prioritized and planned.

"We want to give an update and allow the community to have the awareness of what Dover Air Force Base brings to Delaware," said Scleski. "The economics, the mission, and the way the base interacts with the community are all important parts of this breakfast."

In attendance at the breakfast were Sen. Chris Coons, Sen. Thomas Carper, Rep. John Carney, Jr., Col. Mark Camerer, commander of the 436th Airlift Wing, members of the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce and other base officials.

Everyone in attendance was briefed on past projects, current projects and plans for future projects into the next four years.

There were multiple projects highlighted from the past, including the Liberty Park project, new tenant unit facilities and upgrades made around the base by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 stimulus money.

Liberty Park was built using some money Dover AFB received from a Commander in Chief's Installation Excellence Award.

The CINC IEA was not just a base award, said Scleski. It is also community award showing the partnership and support we have from our local community.

The Liberty Park project also highlighted participation from community contractors, local vendors and suppliers, who brought food and tools for the building days.

In the last year, Dover AFB has welcomed a new tenant unit, the Joint Personal Effects Depot, which had a new facility built. Other Dover AFB tenant units have also had new facilities built.

The briefing also showed how the current stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 stimulus money, totaling more than $54 million has brought work to Delaware. Dover AFB ranks second in the Air Force on the amount of stimulus money received by the reinvestment act.

"We received so much money because we had executable plans and projects ready to go," said Scleski. "We had bona fide projects for quality-of-life projects and infrastructure projects the stimulus program was really focusing on."

The members of the breakfast were also briefed on current projects, two of the most pertinent being the new Airman dormitory and the new fitness center, both scheduled to open towards the end of 2011.

According to Scleski, the real importance of the breakfast was letting the community know what the future of Dover AFB is.

"We really wanted to focus on the top two future projects during the breakfast," said Scleski. "We are looking to build a new hangar complex and a new security forces complex."

Dover AFB currently has more than 85 capital-improvement projects in the works, worth more than $235 million.

The success of Team Dover's military construction program is reflective on the congressional delegation and the community, said Scleski. The volume of construction is evidence of the success of this program.

Judy Diogo, president of the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce, said the community's ability to directly hear about construction on base helps them foster a good relationship.

"A lot of the construction is done by businesses in Kent County. [The breakfast] keeps us in touch with the economic impact of the base on the state of Delaware," said Diogo. "We were thrilled that Col. Camerer allowed us to have the presentation on base, and we were also pleased that the congressional delegation was here, continuing their support of Team Dover."