Maintenance window scheduled to begin at February 14th 2200 est. until 0400 est. February 15th

(e.g. yourname@email.com)

Forgot Password?

    Defense Visual Information Distribution Service Logo

    Questions and Answers at USAG-KA Roi Town Hall

    Questions and Answers at Roi Town Hall

    Photo By James Brantley | U.S. Army Garrison-Kwajalein Atoll Commander Col. Thomas Pugsley met with personnel...... read more read more

    MARSHALL ISLANDS

    09.04.2021

    Story by Jessica Dambruch 

    U.S. Army Garrison-Kwajalein Atoll

    The quarterly town hall series for U.S. Army Garrison-Kwajalein Atoll continued at the Tradewinds Theater Aug. 25, 2021 with a meeting for Roi residents.

    USAG-KA Commander Col. Thomas Pugsley provided updates on current policies, new initiatives and anticipated developments for the Republic of the Marshall Islands travel restrictions. He encouraged the Roi community to adopt good citizenship, community engagement and self-policing of neighborhood conduct.

    Pugsley recognized the value Roi personnel offer to the mission.
    “Don’t underestimate the importance you all have in meeting the overall objectives of the garrison,” said Pugsley.

    As part of the garrison plan to increase transparency and communication between personnel and program leaders, Department of the Army Civilians and command team members will make regular visits to Roi. Residents of the Roi community are encouraged to approach these personnel during their periodic visits to raise questions related to their respective program areas.

    During the town hall, Roi residents raised questions related to island facilities, maintenance, services and other related issues. Read on to learn more.

    Exercise Caution
    The community is reminded to exercise caution while at work and play. At the time of the town hall, hospitals in Hawaii were at maximum capacity. As a result, medical evacuations were sent to Guam.

    Contract Transition
    Pugsley shared developing information about the impending transition for the base operations support contract.

    “We’re expecting transition to begin roughly in November and to end roughly in March,” said Pugsley. “We don’t know what parts will happen first. We’ll have a more formal schedule on the contracts later this month.”

    Channel Change
    By popular demand, after months of straight National Public Radio, AFN Kwajalein hopes to gain a few more fans on Roi.

    Following a question raised during the town hall, AFN Communications Manager Randall Hisle swapped NPR for AFN 97.9. Roi are now able to tune in to hear AFN’s popular music and live broadcasts from AFN Kwajalein.

    ATM Terminal Repairs
    The Roi community awaits repairs for its solitary Community Bank ATM machine.

    According to USAG-KA Command Sgt. Maj. Ismael Ortega, parts for the ATM are in transit. The garrison is working on a solution to engage the services of a repair technician, but efforts underway are largely impacted due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

    Groundskeeping
    The garrison’s small, dedicated Buildings and Grounds team performs upkeep and landscaping on Kwajalein, Roi, Meck and each of the mission islands. When the team is busy elsewhere, they are missed—and the grass is taller.

    “We’re running into a personnel issue,” said Pugsley, who said he anticipates increased resource allocations under the forthcoming LOGCAP V contract.

    “Amentum-DI is working on adding additional personnel. We’re looking at adding additional lawncare equipment for Roi in the LOGCAP contract.”

    Food and Flights
    As discussed during the January town hall, the Roi community faces an ongoing challenge: to have fair access to their grocery shopping privileges on Kwajalein. Please read The Kwajalein Hourglass next week for more information regarding these questions.

    Furniture
    As furniture allocated to BQs creeps past its lifecycle, solutions to fund, source and ship new items—either individually or through organizational funding—present challenges.

    Bachelor quarters maintenance is funded with allocations from USAG-KA’s Facilities Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization program. SRM funds are also utilized for high-priority, health and safety issues like repairs for garrison power plants or utilities systems.

    Changes to personal shipping privileges and challenges posed by ordering through AAFES online have made it difficult to obtain updated furniture like mattresses and couches, Roi residents said.

    A Reply From AAFES
    Following the town hall, AAFES provided USAG-KA Public Affairs Officer Mike Brantley a list of steps for fulfilling orders.
    -The Customer will find an item request form on www.shopmyexchange.com
    -Once they find an item, they can stop by the store with the item number, page print out, or product description
    -The store supervisor or manager will verify the item and get the customer’s contact information
    -The store will then submit an internal product request for fulfillment and/or reach out to the Hawaii stores for support
    -If the item is available and approved for shipment, it will be sent to Hawaii or west coast facilities and then be loaded onto a container

    Fulfillment times will vary due to supply levels at the manufacturer level and general inventory constraints. Not all furniture and appliance items on www.shopmyexchange.com will be available for delivery to Kwajalein.

    “We do always ask that customers attempt to place orders on the website first as some items will ship without issue,” an AAFES representative said in the letter. “This can greatly help in reducing the time it takes for customers to receive their items as well. I’ll also be sure to vocalize this customer concern in the next call with my team.”

    Passport Visits
    Later this year, Kwajalein residents may not have to wait for a consular service visit to take care of passport issuances and renewals. USAG-KA RMI Relations Specialist Mike Sakaio has announced efforts to establish a garrison passport office later this year. The community will be informed when the facility is operational.

    Garrison support personnel are currently training to fulfill citizenship services typically fulfilled by a consular representative. While it is possible to travel to Majuro to take care of passport-related issues, Pugsley recommends garrison residents utilize the island’s services.

    Since the town hall, U.S. Embassy Majuro has provided additional information to USAG-KA Public Affairs Officer Mike Brantley regarding the American citizenship services program.

    -Passport renewals not requiring the signature of a consular officer are accepted by mail

    -The questionnaire that determines whether a renewal can be done without needing to make a personal appearance is found in the instructions for the DS-82 passport renewal application

    Full instructions and guidance, as well as forms, can be found online at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/renew.html

    If eligible, the applicant would then need to provide the following details:

    -Completed and signed form DS-82
    -New two-by-two-inch color photo meeting specifications as described in the DS-82 application instructions

    -The applicant’s most recently issued U.S. passport and/or passport card
    -A certified marriage certificate, divorce decree or court order (if the name they are using now is different from the name on their most recent U.S. passport)

    -A money order or cashier’s check (no cash or personal checks) for the appropriate fee (this is currently a total of $110 for a passport and US$30 for a passport card if the applicant wants that in addition to the passport book)

    The mailing address is:
    U.S. Embassy Majuro
    Attn: Consular Section
    P.O. Box 1379 Mejen Weto Oceanside
    Majuro, MH 96960

    ArMA, Facilities Maintenance
    Things are hot on Roi: BQ residents on Roi have reported climate-control issues on upper stories of their buildings. One supervisor expressed concern for employee safety due to the high temperatures in his warehouse.

    ArMA, the Army’s online maintenance solution, cannot address the facilities-wide issue affecting centralized air in individual quarters funded by SRM funds. Fulfilling a repairs request of this type can make building maintenance difficult. Pugsley agreed to conduct a site visit at the warehouse and to report back.

    “I’m big on communication,” said Pugsley, in agreement. “Nothing bothers me more than not providing feedback.”

    LEAVE A COMMENT

    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 09.04.2021
    Date Posted: 09.04.2021 00:11
    Story ID: 404540
    Location: MH

    Web Views: 338
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN