Photo By Christophe Morel | Workers with the Directorate of Public Works unload plants to replant at Chievres Air...... read more read more
CHIÈVRES, Belgium – The personnel of the Directorate of Public Works at U.S. Army Garrison Benelux have turned their vision onto Chièvres Air Base, aiming to transform the western Belgian installation into a “community of choice” for members of the Armed Forces.
That transformation has taken different manifestations in the garrison, from road work to replanting.
One of the more obvious places is near Gate 14 on the north side of the air base.
Stanchions and signs bedecked in reflective material appear before visitors who pass through the gate. The drivers on their way to the U.S. Army Garrison Benelux headquarters, Commissary, Post Exchange, fitness center or other facilities will drive onto a newly built roadway that runs parallel to the customary road, which heavy machinery will remake.
Eventually community members will drive through a roundabout, which will take the place of a Y-shaped intersection.
Furthermore, contractors are installing medians near the garrison headquarters buildings. A pedestrian / biking path will run parallel to the Gate 14-headquarters corridor. At the on-post barracks, contractors are upgrading a barbecue pavilion structure and putting up solar filters and blackout curtains in the rooms for when warmer, longer days arrive.
This is in addition to other improvements that have already occurred, such as the renovation and restriping of the Commissary and Post Exchange parking lots, the creation of a roundabout in front of the lodge, and the replanting of the concrete planters.
“People take pride in their workplace, and they take pride in their work,” said Nathan Rowland, director of Public Works for the garrison.
The garrison’s mission is to “provide integrated Base Operations to diverse, multi-national, geographically dispersed communities to enable readiness and resiliency in support of a ‘Strong Europe.’” Rowland explained why ensuring the well-being of its people is critical to its mission.
“The garrison is people,” he said. “Every aspect of all the garrison does is fueled by human ingenuity, human creativity, and human passion. We organize resources but at the center of that is us: people.”
These projects are largely taking place at the “Community Support District” of Chièvres Air Base. The Community Support District is one of four at Chièvres Air Base. The others are the Airfield, the Special Operations Forces District, and the Operations District, which includes the Directorate of Public Works, the Logistics Operations Center and other industry-like activities.
DPW and the garrison have different visions for each of the different districts based on each of their planned usages. For the Community Support District, the vision is for a Belgian-style neighborhood. Proposed plans for Army Family housing would incorporate Walloon-style architecture (in keeping with the host nation community).
Amanda Hill, the Master Planning Division chief for DPW, spoke about planning out the future of the garrison and Chièvres Air Base in particular.
“We’re allowed to do prudent planning so we can have a really solid way forward,” she said. “What can you improve? What can you demolish if a structure is outdated? What sort of building standards do you need?”
These plans have been in the works since 2018, and the garrison will continue planning out to 10 years along a five-year planning cycle.
The planning documents propose building and road standards. The document even elaborates on which trees and shrubs are likely to thrive at Chièvres.
“We have a planting guide that was developed as part of our area development plan for Chièvres,” said Rowland. “That guideline was used to kind of do the final plant selection for the planters.”
The improvements are not merely aesthetic; many improvements will also enhance the safety through the base.
As the winter settles in and the days shorten, it’s more likely that community members will run or ride bikes in the dark before or after work. Keeping the pedestrians and cyclists separate from the automobiles will keep them safer, especially as visibility decreases.
Also, the intersection, which the new roundabout is replacing near Gate 14, adjoins roads at a non-90-degree angle, with one approach having a relatively high speed limit and with the other two approaches having relatively low speed limits.
Whether laying out plans for improving the airfield or for making the SOF District a “walkable campus;” to outlining the standards to which new buildings are built or which plants are planted, Hill said the Army’s purpose for thinking through this level of detail is for the benefit of not only our people, but also our nation:
“We want a deliberately cohesive plan that will endure to be the best stewards possible for the American taxpayers.”
“Infrastructure projects across our garrison like these directly contribute to the Army’s number one priority on people,” said Col. James Yastrzemsky, garrison commander of USAG Benelux. “These projects directly tie to the health, safety, morale, and welfare of our people – even the smallest improvements matter. It is all about improving our home away from home and being proud to drive through the gates each day. Our workforce takes great pride doing work to deliver the best infrastructure and services for our community. Do Work and We Deliver – that’s what the Benelux does.”
| Date Taken: | 12.04.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 12.04.2020 03:53 |
| Story ID: | 384190 |
| Location: | CHIEVRES, WHT, BE |
| Web Views: | 221 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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