The Liberty Center had to shut its doors for a period of time.
“The Liberty Center was closed because of some insulation problems,” said Matt Jackson, the NSAB liberty program manager. “The ceiling insulation was outdated. It was closed for a short amount of time so construction crews could come in and do a really good job of fixing it. They lowered the ceiling and put in more long term insulation. We reopened Nov. 4.”
To minimize confusion the Liberty Program decided to change the name from the Liberty Zone to the Liberty Center, according to Jackson.
“The base has a parking lot that is also called the liberty zone,” said Jackson. “So we are in the process of changing the name.”
The Liberty Center consists of two parts.
“The primary role of the Liberty Center is to be a place of refuge for single service members ages 18-25 E-1 to E-6 or geo-bachelors E-1 through E-9. This base is unique because it is also available to wounded warriors.”
The second half of the Liberty Program mission is more inclusive than the Liberty Center itself.
“The second half of the Liberty Program is the trips that take place on the weekends. The trips are open to anyone that is base eligible,” said Jackson “For instance we have an Atlantic City Trip coming up soon, the liberty program will have [discounted] pricing on the trip and it is open to anyone on base.”
The Liberty Center is a place where single service members can go in and play video games, take a nap or just talk to someone.
“We’ve got all the most current video games and consoles,” said Jackson. “It’s a place people can find comfort talking to the staff and make them feel like they aren’t alone here on base. We offer a place where someone could come nap if you wanted to catch a midday “nooner”, we could section them away from everyone else so they could get a chance to sleep.”
The NSAB Liberty Center is part of the Navy Motion Picture Program.
“That means we get movies before they leave theaters and before they are released to DVD or [rental locations],” said Jackson.
Starting in late April, the Liberty Center will begin holding “block parties.”
“The last Thursday of every month we will be having a block party,” said Jackson. “We will have live entertainment, free food and games.”
There are multiple ways for someone to find out what is going on at the Liberty Center.
“We always encourage service members to come to the liberty Center and talk to our staff first to find out what is coming up,” said Jackson. “Other options would be ‘The Happenings’, which covers all things MWR, and we are scheduled to have a calendar in ‘The Journal’ that will have a two week schedule of upcoming MWR events.”
The liberty center is trying to assess what interests service members have.
“We do the best that we can to try and guess what their passions are and provide opportunities to pursue that,” said Jackson. “But at the end of the day a lot of the programs that we offer are what we ourselves are excited about. That’s only because we are searching for what passions on this base might lie in.”
Base population interest usually shifts the program.
“The last base I was at in Sasebo, Japan; there was a huge emphasis on sailing,” said Jackson. “Even though sailing isn’t the biggest thing everywhere else, at that facility, sailing was massive.”
Jackson wants people to come in and talk to him or his staff about what they are interested in. “We are here to give you an opportunity to pursue your passion.”
The hours of the Liberty Center are Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. – 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sundays are from noon to 10.p.m.
For more information about the Liberty Center, call Matt Jackson at (301) 319-8431.
| Date Taken: | 03.16.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 03.17.2017 11:18 |
| Story ID: | 227206 |
| Location: | BETHESDA, MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 14 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Liberty Center Reopens Doors Under New Name, by PO1 William Phillips, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
