Unaccompanied housing to be upgraded

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class James Hensley
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Funds have arrived from Air Education and Training Command for unaccompanied housing to use to take care of Airmen in the dorms, from reconstruction of dorms to fixing a door knob.

"With these funds we are able to maintain dorm integrity and provide for more Airmen coming to the base," said Master Sgt. Robert Sheipline, 56th Civil Engineer Squadron superintendent unaccompanied housing. "One of the biggest projects that funds are going toward is redesigning the two dorm buildings that are not in use at this time to look like the newest dorms."

The newest dormitories were constructed in a quad-style layout with four Airmen per quad, which allows for more privacy. These rooms share a common area and laundry room. This design shift is very different from the design in the planned renovations of the other two buildings.

"A total of 154 rooms are being renovated in this project," said Staff Sgt. Jimmy White, 56th CES Airman dorm leader unaccompanied housing. "Showers, bathrooms, flooring and much more will be renovated and updated to the same standard as the newest dormitories thanks to the funding we received from AETC."

These funds are also going into other projects such as repairs for the basketball courts and furnishings in the dorms.

"We also received $400,000 for comprehensive repairs in the existing dorms," Sheipline said. "This money will be put to use repairing ventilation, tiling, resurfacing the basketball courts and replacing furniture that is outdated. In short, we are trying to make all the dorms new."

Without this funding it was very difficult for unaccompanied housing to get things rolling for Airmen in the dorms.

"Some of the biggest difficulties we faced without funding was timeliness," Sheipline said. "We needed a faster response time for issues Airmen had in the dorms. At times it was difficult to repair things because we didn't have the money to fund it or to buy parts."

With this funding, many issues Airmen have can be fixed.

"There is no end to the issues in the dorms as it's an on-going goal to help the Airmen," Sheipline said. "The way we see it, the Airmen are the Air Force's No. 1 resource, and we need to take care of them."