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Seventeenth Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Ron Ladnier may have put it best when he described the new unit in its first year of operation as “like building an airplane while in flight.”
The general was referring to conducting operations and engagement in Africa while tailoring the unit to suit the evolving mission and acquiring the tools needed to execute it. But many members of 17th AF, also known as Air Forces Africa, might translate that phrase in a more literal sense, as building a headquarters while also working in it.
The growing staff of more than 250 has been conducting business to an orchestra of drills, jackhammers and saws since the renovation on the HQ began in October 2008. By June 2010 – the estimated project completion date – the unit will have accomplished more than $6.29 million worth of facility and communications upgrades, said Master Sgt. Eric Dumpert, infrastructure support manager for 17th AF Logistics, Installations and Mission Support Directorate.
Major components of the renovation include reconfiguring space for the 617 Air and Space Operations Center and Watch Cell, creating work areas where classified information can be secured, upgrading the electrical capacity of the facility, and upgrading the communications setup to include fiber optics capabilities, Sergeant Dumpert said. The HQ has also undertaken projects to install new carpet, buy and install furniture to accommodate a much larger work force, lay new sidewalks, refurbish the building’s conference room, install air conditioning for some sectors and build a new pavilion.
While the comprehensive overhaul of the facility is not unprecedented, conducting operations during a project of this scale is a first.
“Previously in my career, we have never done this much construction while we kept something 100 percent operational,” Sergeant Dumpert said.
Because certain areas are closed for construction, and the staff continues to grow as the unit reaches full operational capability, space is at a premium, Sergeant Dumpert said. While the average member of Team Ramstein has about 130 square feet in their personal work area, members of 17th AF are down to about 50 square feet. Logistics Director Col. Lonny Baker lauded unit members for their patience and cooperation during the construction.
“This is a total team effort,” Colonel Baker said. “There are new challenges to overcome every day, but overall everyone has been patient and adapted quickly to the inconveniences, and they’ve given our team the help and access they’ve needed.”
The colonel cited 17th AF Communications Directorate as being integral to the project, along with the contractors and the 86th Civil Engineer Squadron. Capt. Moroni Booth said specialists from the communications directorate have benefited from a similar team spirit while revamping the building’s infrastructure.
“We’ve been working with the different directorates and they’ve been very cooperative in accommodating us, often with little notice, so we can get in and do what we need to do to keep the mission going,” Captain Booth said.
Communications has been working in concert with logistics directorate on the renovation, hammering out creative solutions and adaptations as they go while enduring the same inconveniences.
When the infrastructure project reaches completion next summer, at least eight walls will have been knocked down, a parking lot and sidewalks chewed up and re-laid, and the floor plan will have some considerable differences.
The benefits of the project, including flexibility and team building within the staff and AOC, are fundamental to the unit’s mission as a whole, General Ladnier said.
“As our unit has grown and evolved over the past year, everyone has been great about pitching in and helping out when and where needed,” he said.
“Without a doubt, our communications and logistics folks have been the unsung heroes in keeping us up and running throughout these renovations, but the way we’ve come together overall as a team. I’m very proud of each and every member of 17th AF.”
