Engineers say goodbye to overhead wires

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Melanie Holochwost
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Not only are overhead electrical wires an eye sore, but bad weather can cause them to be unreliable.

Fortunately, the 56th Civil Engineer Squadron is currently moving these wires underground at Luke Air Force Base.

"The overhead wires and poles are getting old and underground replacement is necessary," said Bill Saucier, 56th CES Electrical Shop supervisor. "The project will standardize the base's electrical system, replace the old and improve the look of the base."

Although the project was originally slated for contractors, Lt. Col. John Thomas, 56th CES commander, wanted to keep it in-house to provide our Airmen hands-on training and save some money at the same time, said Maj. Todd Inouye, 56th CES Operations Flight commander.

"This project is a valuable training opportunity for both our military and civilian employees," he said. "Electricians, heavy equipment operators, structures, utilities, engineer assistants, operations managers and entomologists will all be involved in the planning and execution of this project."

Continuous training keeps our skills honed and ready to deploy anywhere, Major Inouye said.

"We need to be able to respond in any situation, especially in emergencies, crises, and austere environments where contract work is either not available or fast enough," he said.

Mr. Saucier said performing the first of four phases in-house saved the Air Force a substantial amount of money.

"If 56th CES didn't divert the first phase of the project to in-house work, it would have cost about $2.2 million for contractors to complete it," Mr. Saucier said. "Instead, it cost about 75 percent less -- only $512,000."