Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Tristan Lotz | 190325-N-ME396-006 GROTON, Conn. (March 25, 2019) Electronics Technician (Navigation)...... read more read more
GROTON, Conn. – When a Sailor returns home from a long deployment at sea, the last thing they want to come home to is a barracks room full of mildew. But fear not, because the Tiger Team is on the job.
Following the discovery of mildew in some of the rooms in Scorpion Hall barracks onboard Naval Submarine Base (SUBASE) New London, the Unaccompanied Housing department put together a Tiger Team to help combat the problem.
The Tiger Team is composed of Naval Submarine School (SUBSCOL) students who have completed their training but are waiting for orders to a submarine or command. Rather than sitting around SUBASE’s Transient Personnel Unit (TPU) waiting to transfer, the Tiger Team gives those Sailors a chance to do something productive to pass the time and take pride in their base.
Before getting to work renovating rooms, the Tiger Team is preceded by SUBASE New London Public Works personnel who ensure the building is free of mold and asbestos, and the team is in a safe working environment. The Tiger Team’s work ultimately helps lower repair costs for the command and reduces building renovation times.
“We have taken out the carpet in the affected rooms, cleaned up and repaired the rooms ourselves to save time and money,” said Operations Specialist 2nd Class Howard Stewart. “We have been cleaning up since the beginning of the year. We have a lot of [SUBSCOL students] who are on hold waiting for orders or their security clearance, so we put them to work fixing up these barracks rooms so they aren’t just sitting around TPU [Transient Personnel Unit] doing nothing, and they get to learn some useful skills and take pride in their work.”
Stewart showed one of the rooms awaiting renovation. The aging carpet was peppered with white rings of mildew and the walls were dirty and damaged. Stewart explained the common cause of the fungus in the rooms.
“Scorpion Hall is actually the oldest barracks building on base,” said Stewart. “These rooms have motion sensors in them. Sailors would go on deployment and the sensors would think the room was abandoned and shut off all the ventilation and utilities to save energy. Then the Sailors would come back months later and the room would be filled with mildew.”
To help mitigate any future problems, the occupancy sensor settings are being updated to ensure proper airflow is maintained in each room during the Sailors absence.
In another room, the carpet had already been removed and was being replaced by members of the Tiger Team. The carpet was cut into tiles and laid down in segments which could be further cut to fit around corners or utilities.
“We have to make sure it’s cut exactly and then put down floor glue and seal each patch into place,” said Machinist’s Mate (Auxiliary) Fireman Apprentice Jovani Sandoval as he dipped his trowel into a bucket of floor glue and spread it on the floor. “Typically, after carpeting we paint the walls and prepare the room. We clean it up and make it ready to be lived in again.”
Stewart then showed a room whose transformation was complete and was awaiting new occupants. The carpet was fresh and clean, the furniture was newly-purchased and placed, and the walls had the distinctive shine of fresh paint.
“We go top to bottom in these rooms,” said Chief Culinary Specialist (Submarine) Paul Penrose, leading chief petty officer of unaccompanied housing. “We patch up the holes and replace the carpet; anything that needs to get done, we do it. the Tiger Team is great because it makes Sailors a little more productive. They learn some useful skills and they enjoy it. It sure beats sitting around doing nothing!”
Penrose pointed out the learning opportunities and character growth offered by Tiger Team using a Sailor named Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Maximillian Delgado.
“Take CSS3 Delgado here,” said Penrose. “He’s learning valuable trades and leadership skills. His job right now is to follow the BPO [barracks petty officer] and act as an assistant. After the Navy, if he wants to get into construction or remodel his house or something, he knows how to do it.”
A Sailor’s living conditions can have a big impact on morale, so the Navy is committed to finding solutions when those conditions are below par. The Tiger Team is just one of many examples of Sailors helping Sailors to get more done with fewer resources and helping to make on-base housing pleasant to live in while learning useful craftsman and leadership skills to use in the future.
| Date Taken: | 03.25.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 03.27.2019 12:41 |
| Story ID: | 315875 |
| Location: | GROTON, CONNECTICUT, US |
| Web Views: | 183 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Tiger Team Helping Improve Quality of Life for Fellow Sailors, by PO2 Tristan Lotz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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