Photo By Chad Watkins | Members of the 243rd Engineering and Installation Squadron, Maine Air National Guard,...... read more read more
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The 55th Communications Squadron hosted a seven-member team from the 243rd Engineering and Installation Squadron, Maine Air National Guard, to install fiber optic cabling in the new construction in Offutt Air Force Base’s flood recovery zone on January 26-30, 2025.
The cabling will connect four new facilities being built as part of the flood rebuild, including the 55th Security Forces Campus and 55th Operations Support Squadron/SERE facility, into the Offutt network backbone.
“We’re basically putting in new fiber backbones,” said Technical Sgt. Matthew Johnston, 243rd EIS cable and antenna team chief. “These are all brand new buildings with no connectivity yet, so we are running all new fiber line from the hub on base and splitting it to all the new buildings. When the buildings are ready for use, their comms will be ready as well.”
The team from the Maine Air National Guard spent the week installing five thousand feet of 72-strand fiber optic cable, splicing and terminating it throughout multiple maintenance holes and facilities.
“We’re ready at a moment’s notice,” said Senior Master Sgt. Keith Anderson, 243rd EIS. “We are one of 15 EI squadrons throughout the Air Force and travel all over the world to install comms at various installations. We have been to Offutt multiple times over the years, because it costs just a small fraction for us to do our job versus contractors.”
The use of military personnel was vital to keep the project on track timewise and budget-wise.
“Using the Air National Guard Engineering and Installation team versus contracted labor kept this critical project on track,” said Jeff Crim, 55th Communications Squadron, Plans and Resources flight director. “It saved the government more than $150 thousand in labor costs alone. This would have been a serious delay without the help of our dedicated Air National Guard teammates.”
On March 16, 2019, Offutt Air Force Base suffered a devastating flood, causing millions of dollars in damage to infrastructure and displacing more than 3,200 personnel. Offutt is building seven new campuses with a strategic approach to modernize Offutt’s operations and mission capabilities.
| Date Taken: | 02.28.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.17.2025 16:54 |
| Story ID: | 492671 |
| Location: | OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, NEBRASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 39 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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