Command Corner: April 25 Published June 13, 2008 By Col. Steven Harrison 436th Airlift Wing DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- What a wild week for Team Dover! Thanks to all our total force team who have worked so hard to make the fly-away exercise in preparation for July's operational readiness inspection a success. All told, we deployed over 750 Airmen and 500 short tons of equipment in 2.5 days. As I write this, the 805th Air Expeditionary Wing is conducting deployed warfighting operations at Alpena, Mich. and I look forward to welcoming them home April 24-25. We are making great strides in preparation, but we have a distance to go before we are in a position to showcase our best effort. Next week, I'll report on strengths and weaknesses exposed by this exercise and lay out the way ahead. As a team, we have put a tremendous amount of work into this effort and I know the team wants to demonstrate, once again, that Team Dover is truly "America's Preeminent Expeditionary Airlift Team!" In the meantime, we are beginning to reap the rewards of our Commander-in-Chief Installation Excellence Win! Last week, I responded to a number of recommendations for how best to utilize the $1 million that you earned through your hard work, creativity and dedication. For part 2 of this 4-part series, I'd like to respond to those requests related to the base Fitness Center and the fitness track. Suggestion: "Improve the base fitness center." Response: Over the last 12 months, Dover Air Force Base has gone from No. 8 in Air Mobility Command in overall fitness metrics to No. 1. Dover can now claim to legitimately be "world class" in terms of fitness, and you have earned a world-class facility through your efforts. Although we can't build one for $1 million, I'm proud to report that we have been awarded approximately $20 million to construct a new fitness center in 2009! Where possible, we'll supplement this effort with Installation Excellence Award money in order to build synergy between this project and existing fitness options. I'll explain further in responding to the following suggestions. Suggestion: "Repair damage to the base track." Response: Approved. Our rubberized fitness track has been damaged, impeding fitness activities and causing a safety hazard. We'll repair it. Expected completion: May 2008. Cost $16,800. Suggestion: "Place edging around track." Response: I like the idea as it would improve the running surface and protect the rubberized track from future damage. Unfortunately, the contract cost, $89,000, is just too high when balanced against the benefit. Keep thinking! Suggestion: "Construct an indoor pool." Response: While this would be great for our Airmen and their families, we simply don't have enough construction and maintenance funds to support this project. Suggestion: "Construct an indoor running track allowing for an approved alternate locale for fitness testing during inclement weather." Response: Excellent idea--a one-eighth mile, elevated indoor track will be included in our new fitness center. The contract is expected to be awarded in March 2009. One caution: we'll use military construction dollars to execute this suggestion. These can be tentative in our current resource-constrained environment. However it's currently in the program and we are working hard to make it a reality! Suggestion: "Extend fitness center hours to 24/7. " Response: This is a recurring request. Our tests have consistently shown the demand for extended fitness center hours simply isn't there. Here's my commitment: I'll support a test of extended fitness center hours if any unit is willing to temporarily commit their own manpower to assist with the test. If the test shows ample usage, I'll support extended fitness center hours. The ball is in your court! Suggestion: "Better air conditioning in fitness center." Response: We have included an improved air conditioning system in the proposed fitness center mentioned above. Suggestion: "Improve the child care area in the fitness center to include more, better, and more varied machines." Response: The space available in our current Fitness Center limits the amount of equipment we can provide for patron use near the children's area. Plans for our proposed fitness center include a much larger area that will allow space for more equipment, and a larger area for children. But we need your help--if you have any suggestions for what type of equipment you would like to see added to our current area, or placed in the new facility, please let the staff at the fitness center know at 677-3963, and we will do our best to make it happen! Suggestion: "New Fitness Theater System." Response: Good idea. The 436th Services Squadron has identified an improved cardio theater system that can be installed in our current Fitness Center, and then transferred to the new fitness center. The system will give patrons the ability to plug a headphone into receivers on each piece of exercise equipment and tune into one of the many channels available. Expected implementation date: August 2008 Cost: $15,000. Suggestion: "Pave and pad a walking/jogging trail around the base perimeter, and include shorter trails (that curve back on itself) for a variety of fitness options." Response: I love the idea, but can't afford it or make it work in terms of property right now. But we can do a "partial" and a "future" solution. The 436th Civil Engineer Squadron is beginning design and construction of a cinder running path that will proceed from the base fitness center along the perimeter fence line to the running track and ultimately be lit. Running/walking trails are also being included in the Dover AFB housing area. We are also in the negotiation phase of linking our housing trails to a greenway on the west side of base housing that the Dover community has proposed constructing. If successful, this will allow our folks access, via the housing trails, to walking/jogging paths and bikeways that proceed from Dover AFB to downtown Dover. In the long term, they are projected to go tens of miles further. Estimated start date for cinder track: Aug 2008. Cost $100,000. Thanks to all our Airmen who provided such great suggestions. Next week, I'll focus primarily on responding to those suggestions related to the dormitories and our flyaway exercise results. Ensuring we are fit to fight while testing our warfighting skills...that's how Dover AFB remains "America's Preeminent Expeditionary Airlift Team!"