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    Innovating, Cooperating, Renovating; Altus AFB’s new shelter

    Innovating, Cooperating, Renovating; Altus AFB’s new shelter

    Photo By Senior Airman Jackson Haddon | The new base shelter over the 97th Medical Group is prepared for use, Jan 11 2017, at...... read more read more

    ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, OK, UNITED STATES

    01.19.2017

    Story by Airman Jackson Haddon 

    97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

    In December 2015 an ice storm tore through Altus Air Force Base that took out power. The base was shut down and while electricity returned later in the day to some, other areas were left without it for several days.
    Power was fully restored after a few days, but the incident started a conversation that Altus AFB needed a shelter with reliable energy.
    “We found a deficiency during the 2015 ice storm when the power went down,” said U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Aaron Cox, 97th Civil Engineer Squadron project manager. “We tried to manipulate the Fitness Center, but it did not have a generator attached to it and attaching one was going to cost around a quarter of a million dollars. Then the idea came up that we could use the second floor of the 97th Medical Group because they already had a generator hooked up.”
    The second floor was empty after the base hospital converted to a medical clinic several years ago. The space was void and had yet to be used for any other purpose.
    “We had been tossing around ideas about what to do with that area for several years now,” said U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Ronald Marongelli, 97th CES operations engineering officer in charge. “One of the other ideas included modifying the area to make an indoor track.”
    After much deliberation, the idea was proposed that the clinic may be the answer to the question about a base shelter.
    Not only was the space available, but the generator was only using about 30 percent of its full potential. This meant that the clinic had more power that could be used to run a shelter in an emergency.
    With a location in mind, the next task was determining requirements for the shelter.
    “It took a lot of brain storming from all of our shops here to make sure we covered all the bases,” said Marongelli. “There was also a lot of cooperation with the Med Group and their facility manager to make sure our work was compliant with all medical facility regulations.”
    The new shelter also has several amenities in case it has to be used for an extended period of time.
    “The shelter has good backup power, an inprocessing area and a storage area for cots or food,” said Cox. “We also have four bathrooms. One is accessible for the disabled and each bathroom has a toilet, sink and shower. We have a back room with a counter big enough for a microwave, a sink, a space for a refrigerator and the space is conditioned so it will stay at a reasonable temperature.”
    The maximum capacity of the shelter reaches up to 211 people with the added amenities. The construction of the shelter also helped fill training requirements for 97th CES Airmen, allowing them to train in areas that may help when they’re deployed.
    “This was the first time I’ve seen practically all of our shops come together in one collaborative effort,” said Marongelli, who had recently been deployed. “Not just to maintain facilities on base, but to actually construct something from the ground up. Coming back from downrange, I think this is the closest you can get in training for those kinds of projects overseas.”
    Finding purpose for an unused space, retrofitting it for the base’s needs and working hard to provide a tangible solution is just another day here at Altus Air Force Base.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 01.19.2017
    Date Posted: 01.19.2017 14:32
    Story ID: 220709
    Location: ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, OK, US

    Web Views: 34
    Downloads: 0

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