Digging in

03.24.2005

Courtesy Story

DVIDS Hub       

Story and photos by Sgt. Matt Millham

They have a plan. They have the materials. They have the people. The only thing missing from Camp Virginia's multi-million dollar renovation is a reality television crew.

The makeover, which will cost an estimated $14 million, will change the camp to such a degree that those in charge of carrying out the plans say it will be unrecognizable from its present configuration.

For anyone who has had to navigate the Virginia's convoluted network of dirt lanes, sleep in its wood-floored tents or cram into its dining facility during the surge, this is welcome news.

The original plan for the Camp, which was built in large part during the ramp up to Operation Iraqi Freedom, was to arrange everything in a rough circle, said Master Sgt. Chris Calvert, the noncommissioned officer in charge of operations at Camp Virginia.

Capt. Glenn Peers, officer in charge of service and support for the camp, said he heard rumors that Virginia was arranged so haphazardly to minimize the number of casualties in the case of a missile attack by Saddam Hussein.

Whatever the case, since its initial construction, the camp has only grown, and with growth came even more confusion. The jumbled layout may have been tolerable for a short time, but Virginia has been designated as one of the few Kuwait camps that will remain as an enduring camp -- a camp whose life will extend beyond 2007, according to a document, dated Dec. 1 2004, that lays out the plan for Virginia's makeover.

"The plan details things the camp is lacking in order to accomplish its [Reception, Staging Onward Movement and Integration] mission," said MAJ John McFassel, the project engineer for Camps New York and Virginia, who is with Facility Engineer Team 24.

McFassel is responsible for producing the planning document, titled "Camp Virginia Master Plan," every quarter.

The plan sorts out all the confusion while making major improvements to the camp's living and work areas, shower facilities, road network and ammunition handling area. The plan also allowed for the construction of a new helipad, which was recently completed, and calls for an additional dining facility and a marked increase in capacity to handle rotational surges.

"The improvements will allow the camp to handle more troops with increased comfort and efficiency," said McFassel.

The surge's impact on Virginia will only increase as plans move forward to eliminate Camp New York, which has served as a key rotational camp. "Since Camp New York is closing, both Virginia and [Camp] Buehring will have to be able to support significantly more troops next year," said McFassel. The new plan calls for the capacity of Camp Virginia to increase from 11,000 to 16,000.

One of the most significant changes will be to the camp's layout. Construction crews are already untangling the seemingly unplanned jumble of roads and random living areas as they tear down the old tent pads and build new ones.

Work under the new plan began in November with the construction of concrete pads to hold fest tents, which can each hold up to 60 people. This part of the project was completed in time to deal with the annual surge, which effectively ended a few weeks ago.

But that was only the beginning. Now, "we're trying to get everything ready for the next surge," said Peers, adding that many of the improvements are designed to make life at the camp more enjoyable for permanent residents as well.

After completing the first tent project, American International Contractors Incorporated, the company contracted to carry out some 90 percent of the reconstruction, graded the camp's perimeter road to make the once pothole-infested circuit easier to navigate.

They also completely rebuilt the camp's entry control and fuel points.

Then work began on laying concrete for nine tent pads, each of which will hold 52 temper tents. When complete, the pads" combined capacity will hold in excess of 6,500 transient troops -- roughly the size of a new Unit of Action.

The concrete pads virtually eliminate the vibrations that would shake a wood-floored tent and disturb troops trying to get a decent night's sleep. The new pads also have upgraded electrical systems with individual breakers for each tent.

If an outage occurs, the new system should isolate the problem to a single tent, said Peers, who is supervising much of the construction project.

Living conditions will be even better for permanent tenants at Virginia. They will move out of tents and into re-locatable buildings, or RLBs, which will be brought in over the next year and a half. A new chapel, which was not part of the improvement plan but was completed in January, will double as a Morale Welfare and Recreation area for big events.

Up to four additional community buildings will be added as well, said Peers. As of March 16, construction was underway on one of those buildings, which will most likely be used as a conference center, said Peers.

The camp's common, where all of the AAFES vendors are located, will also be expanded to better the quality of life at the camp. At the center of the camp, which includes the common, the command cell and most of the other administrative offices, a network of solar-powered street lights will make the area safer to navigate at night.

Work continues on a new Basic Load Ammunition Handling Area, which AICI is upgrading to "peacetime standards," said Peers. The original ammunition handling area was designed to hold a net weight of up to 20,000 pounds of explosives. The new area, which will cost just under $600,000 to complete, will be able to hold more than 14 times as much within the same amount of space.

Other improvements will be made to administrative areas. As part of the Doha closure, 26 RLBs will be transferred to Virginia to take the place of tents that house administrative services and medical and dental facilities.

Improvements will also be made to the camp's hygiene facilities, gym and exercise areas, DFAC, loading ramps, container storage area, vehicle maintenance area -- the list goes on to include nearly every aspect of the camp.

"The camp will be in operation at least as long as OIF lasts," said McFassel. "The items being built now, such as the community buildings, tent pads and helipad, will last for many years."

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• Date Taken: 03.24.2005
• Date Posted: 03.24.2005 14:07
• Story ID: 1413