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    Facilities Engineering: The Lifeline

    Facilities Engineering — SN Kendall Ferebee

    Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Lauren Dean | Seaman Kendall L. Ferebee stands in the butler building at Coast Guard Air Station...... read more read more

    ATLANTIC CITY, NJ, UNITED STATES

    02.26.2016

    Story by Seaman Lauren Dean 

    U.S. Coast Guard District 5   

    ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - In the Coast Guard aviation field, crew members and pilots work diligently to keep aircraft maintained and ready for action. They work around the clock to keep the birds in the air, and ultimately to keep the community safe.

    Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City is a particularly busy place to be. The unit has to be prepared to conduct search and rescue missions in the surrounding waterways 365 days per year. It’s a rigorous job these brave men and women have taken on, often pushing themselves to the limit, both physically and mentally.

    The one department that allows the air crews to maintain such a high level of performance and is meant to alleviate any unnecessary stress in the form of ground level support is the Facilities Engineering Department. FACENG is critical to Air Station Atlantic City’s mission success because it keeps all the vital lifelines of ground support alive, allowing the air crews to operate at their fullest potential.

    FACENG is responsible for numerous tasks around the base, on a year-round basis, including servicing all heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, maintaining lawn care in the spring and summer months, and battling snow removal in the winter months. This department takes care of all hotel services, which include making sure basic necessities such as potable water, plumbing and electricity are up to par. FACENG is also responsible for the repair and maintenance of all ground support equipment. This encompasses everything that touches the helicopters – hydraulic power units, fuel tugs, and wash stations. This ultimately allows air crew members the ability to fly and maintain aircraft effectively and efficiently.

    In the humid summer months, the flight mechanics can enjoy the luxury of working indoors in an air-conditioned facility. From making sure the buildings stay warm in the bitter winter months of New Jersey’s snow storms, to maintaining water pipelines and ensuring there are no leaks throughout the facility, it is a busy job. Without this group of dedicated people, it would be almost impossible to keep the air station alive and thriving like it is and has been.

    A major undertaking conducted by FACENG was the butler building project. The butler building is a warehouse detached from the air station that provides storage for equipment and supplies. The butler building project consisted of cleaning out and recycling all scrap metal and unused equipment from within and surrounding this structure, allowing for a greater use of storage space by all departments within the air station. Simultaneously, the recycled equipment generated funding that will support future morale trips and events.

    “As a non-rate, I feel as though through projects like the butler building, I am part of a team working together to accomplish a common goal,” said Seaman Kendall L. Ferebee, who has been a part of FACENG since he reported to the air station on Jan. 16, 2015. “Working as a team is a new experience for me, and as such, it has allowed me to grow as a person.”

    The Meritorious Team Award was presented to the members of FACENG for their devotion to duty and exemplary teamwork.

    The butler building project is only one of many, including the complete remodel of the enlisted lounge and Chiefs’ Mess that would have easily totaled over $100,000 in expenses had the project been contracted out. Instead, this allowed these funds to be allocated elsewhere, possibly toward refueling a Coast Guard helicopter on a mission to saving someone’s life.

    “We provide life to the air station,” said Ferebee. “Without FACENG, it would be equivocal to a body with a brain, but no heart.”

    There are many moving parts to the Facilities Engineering Department, each of which are essential to the completion of individual projects and ultimately to the fluidity of how Air Station Atlantic City operates every day.

    “We provide a solid foundation for the overall mission success and crew comfort,” said Chief Petty Officer Nick Mimms. “This facility is operating at 150 percent of its design capacity. The work our members do to keep things running smoothly is impressive.”

    It takes all people working together toward a common goal to complete any task, and this is one of the best examples of how its smooth operation begins with a strong foundation of passionate people. It takes all moving parts to save lives — even one life — and it starts from the ground up.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 02.26.2016
    Date Posted: 02.26.2016 13:26
    Story ID: 190253
    Location: ATLANTIC CITY, NJ, US

    Web Views: 158
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN