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At Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, this function falls to the members of the 509th Civil Engineer Squadron’s (CES) Geobase shop. The Geobase shop is responsible for more than 4,500 acres of land, which encompasses 1,500 facilities and the safety of over 14,000 Team Whiteman members. The team provides nine standard mapping areas, including layout and vicinity maps, airfield operation planning, utility systems mapping and contingency planning.
“Our maps help during exercises for location purposes that range from buffers, to incident location, and more,” said Staff Sgt. Halee Young, a 509th CES Geobase journeyman.
“They are vital for everyday use such as location and territory, mowing areas and restricted location areas,” Young added.
Overseas, these Airmen play a vital role in standing up new facilities and doing it the right way. The Geobase shop lays out foundations, levels out the areas for construction and updates the maps after the facility’s construction is completed.
Geobase troops survey the land across the installation to gather coordinates and elevation levels. After they gather this data, they act as an “811” excavator to those looking to begin construction projects on base.
“If a project is starting, they have to fill out a dig permit and bring it to us for a signature,” said Young. “We provide them with data concerning the utilities within the area they are proposing to dig. This way they don’t hit any utility lines, making more work and costing more for the Air Force.”
Not only could hitting a utility line be costly, it could create a dangerous environment from a natural gas leak, a water leak, or interrupted phone and internet connections. This is why it is crucial for Geobase troops to constantly build the most up-to-date layouts.
“We devote ourselves to the mission by providing accurate location data, measurements and support in construction projects around the base,” said Young. “As Colin Powell states, ‘There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.’ This is the mindset we strive to embody.”
| Date Taken: | 08.25.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 08.25.2017 15:23 |
| Story ID: | 246067 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 64 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Whiteman Geobase: On the map, by A1C Michaela Slanchik, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
