Photo By Senior Airman Devyn Waits | Robert Moseley, 81st Civil Engineer Squadron deputy base civil engineer, receives the...... read more read more
Since its activation in 1941, from its support of recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, to its ongoing efforts to train the most capable and ready warfighters in the force, Keesler Air Force Base has become a cornerstone to the Air Force.
Throughout the 84 years the base has been open, Mr. Robert Moseley has served Keesler for nearly half of it, providing service that can only be described as invaluable.
The now retired deputy base civil engineer led over 500 projects and managed billions of dollars worth of resources while leading two dozen teammates at a time. His retirement on March 26, 2025 marked a new horizon for Keesler.
After arriving in 1985, Moseley took on many important projects, but he said one of the most impactful was the reconstruction of the Triangle training area in the late 1990s.
“[I was] fresh out of college, a bright-eyed young man with more enthusiasm than experience,” said Moseley.
The Triangle Vision project spanned more than five years and involved demolishing World War II-era facilities, constructing nine new dormitories, multiple technical training buildings, and implementing central utility and energy systems.
“That made a big impact to training overall as the students came through because the quality of life had improved significantly,” said Moseley.
Just four years after the Triangle was completed, Hurricane Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005. Almost every building on base was damaged or destroyed, except those in the recently-built Triangle.
Within 15 days of Katrina terrorizing the Gulf Coast, Moseley said normal operations resumed within the training facilities, and new Airmen arrived a short four days later from Basic Military Training ready for the next stage of their military career.
“I don’t think we would’ve rebuilt and come back as fast as we did if Bob wasn’t behind the helm,” said Mr. Al Watkins, 81st Civil Engineer Squadron operations chief. “Bob was here to make a difference, and he made that difference.”
From the Triangle dorms to nearly every single other building on Keesler has Moseley to thank for its design, construction, power systems or maintenance. He led large-scale projects like military housing construction, a $287 million initiative that constructed 1,028 homes in three years.
“He was the key man behind the scenes,” said Watkins.
In his final years at the base, Moseley led through projects including the Moisture Remediation Program and a $51 million Enhanced Use Lease project that helped establish the Mississippi Cyber and Technology Center.
Now that he has retired, Moseley has said that he’s ready to live a slower life.
“You don’t realize you have stress, until you don’t,” said Moseley. “I was worried about going from high speed to no speed. But, it’s actually pretty nice.”
Moseley said that the stress of his job had started to weigh down on him over the years. But, after reaching retirement he enjoys having a much lighter load.
Keesler will long remember Robert Moseley’s extraordinary service to the base and everyone that passes through it. It is no exaggeration to say that his contribution to the Triangle construction directly supported the readiness of the U.S. Air Force for almost four decades.
| Date Taken: | 09.04.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.04.2025 09:12 |
| Story ID: | 547200 |
| Location: | KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, MISSISSIPPI, US |
| Web Views: | 38 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 39 years of excellence: The career of Mr. Moseley, by A1C Kaleb Tewes, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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