Construction projects put D-M on the map

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Sean Marshall
  • 355th Civil Engineer Squadron
DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  If you've taken a drive around base recently, you may have noticed that there are several large construction projects in progress.

Did you know that D-M has one of the Air Force's largest active Military Construction programs? More than $240 million in construction is under design for the next two-three years and looking over the next five years, it is possible that almost half a billion dollars could be approved by Congress for MILCON projects on D-M.

The 355th Civil Engineer Squadron's programs flight has been working these projects from the begnning through design and award and will continue all the way through construction when the facilities are handed off to the users to perform their missions.

Much of this work is due to the recapitalization of the HC-130 aircraft for the 563rd Rescue Group, referred to as the Personnel Recovery bed-down. If you've driven on Yuma Rd. where Craycroft Rd. and Picacho St. intersect, you may have noticed the steel-framed building being erected. This is the HC-130J simulator building and along with the 79th Rescue Squadron operations just to the south of it, it is the beginning of the PR Center of Excellence.

The U.S. Army is planning a new 58,000 square foot training facility just to the east of the Swan Gate for Fiscal Year 2013 and will be moving into temporary facilities located to the west of the running track later this year.

Due to finish this summer are D-M's new Fire and Crash Rescue Station and our newest 144-person dormitory. This $25 million effort was constructed with sustainable and energy saving techniques utilizing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design initiatives that were launched in 2000 by the U.S. Green Building Council to promote sustainable building and "aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency,carbon dioxide emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts." The Fire and Crash Rescue Station will be LEED Silver certified and the dorm will actually achieve LEED Gold status. With all the MILCON happening on D-M, we are leading the way with LEED certification by requiring all major new construction, at a minimum, meets LEED Silver certification.

Not to be left out are the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group the Air National Guard , the 943rd RQG, the Defense Energy Support Center, and the nonappropriated funds lodging which all have MILCON projects slated in the coming years.

In 2011, AMARG will start construction of a double hangar large enough to fit two KC-135s or 16 F-16s inside and they have plans to install a "Hush House" to mitigate the noise when they test F-16 aircraft engines.

The 943rd RQG has plans for a Guardian Angel Operations facility in FY14 and the ANG has plans to expand their $5.6 million Predator operations and training facility which will finish construction in May.

The base's 1950s vintage aircraft fueling system is the oldest in CONUS and will be replaced next year by DESC with an environmentally compliant "Type III" hydrant fueling system.

As with much of the older infrastructure on D-M, the Visiting Quarters have seen better days, so the NAF Morale Welfare Board just approved a 350-room VQ to be built starting in FY13.

While not a MILCON project, another project important to the wing was the recent repair of D-M's runway. In total, the project cost a little over $4.7 million and required $1.5 million in TDY costs to relocate fixed wing aircraft so the runway could be shut for 30 days while four inches of asphalt was milled off and replaced with 50,000 tons of new asphalt. The design of this project was completed in-house at a $500,000 savings.

D-M's most impressive move towards the Department of Defense's renewable energy goals is Asset Management Flight's 14.5 megawatt solar photo-voltaic project. Covering 170 acres of underutilized land at two locations on the base, the solar PV project is expected to provide approximately 35 percent of the base electricity requirements, reducing base utilities cost by an average of $500,000 annually. With a combination of six megawatts at the solar array at Soaring Heights Communities and the expected 14.5 megawatts from the new array, D-M will be home to one of the largest solar-energy generating capacities in the Department of Defense. This project will put D-M above and beyond the DoD goal of 25 percent renewable energy by 2025.

So next time you find yourself on a drive around D-M and see new construction or some old structure being demolished, rest assured the programs flight in the 355th CES was deeply entrenched in the idea, design and solution. Their efforts ensure the mission and supporting functions at D-M remain vital today and in the future!