Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Corenthia Fennell | Senior Airmen Joel Holder (left) and Jonathan Yapp (right), 332nd Expeditionary...... read more read more
Subscribe
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq – The Department of State recently requested 3,800 containerized housing units from U.S. Forces-Iraq.
A total of 3,500 CHUs were specifically identified at JBB. The housing consolidation will impact more than 5,000 JBB members, and a majority of the CHUs are located in Contractor Village, Air Mobility Command Housing and H2.
“The estimated moves will be executed in a manner that best takes advantage of our JBB-wide capability and will evenly disperse the impact across all services, civilians and contractors,” said Capt. Brandon Wengert, 332nd Expeditionary Force Support Squadron deputy commander, who is deployed from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.
Captain Wengert said the moves will be executed in phases to cause the least amount of mission and quality of life disruption across JBB.
First, 2,100 beds and wall lockers will be added throughout H4, H5, H6, H7 and H8 housing. Next, residents will then move to other CHUs within their housing compound. Depending on rank, CHUs for enlisted members E-1 to E-6 will house up to seven, and those for E-7 to E-9 will house up to six. Officers O-1 to O-5 will receive an additional roommate as well.
The move will create the surge capacity needed for members displaced by the consolidation. Residents of H5, AMC Housing and the Housing Sites will relocate into the CHU’s as they open up. Those living in Contractor Village will then move into H5.
A native of Boulder City, Nev., Captain Wengert said the removal and relocation of the CHUs will save American taxpayers upwards of $175 million as well as reduce U.S. forces footprint.
“The cost saving is based on the difference in replacement cost of purchasing and shipping new CHUs verse relocating those already in the area of responsibility,” he said.
Capt. Wengert expects the CHUs would be completely vacated by April 1, and ready for 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron members to prepare for transport. The 3,500 CHUs will end up in locations elsewhere in Iraq.
With the consolidation of living quarters and the plus-up of room occupants, Chief Master Sgt. Buddy Hutchinson, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing command chief, asks Airmen to “embrace the suck.”
“In 10 months time, U.S. force will be leaving Iraq and that’s not a lot of time,” he said during a First Four junior enlisted council meeting. “Manage your expectations from here on out.
“Talk to those non-commissioned officers who were here in 2003. They slept in tents and had to wear their battle rattle.”
Referring to H-6 as the "Alamo" where we will make our last stand, Chief Hutchinson said the compound currently boasts a 70 percent occupancy rate and will continue to swell to 90 percent.
The chief reminds airmen to have a positive attitude about the change.
“No one is going to go hungry; we will have heat and air conditioning and a roof over our heads,” Chief Hutchinson said. “It will only become more expeditionary and we need to do what needs to be done to get through this.”
Before parting ways, Hutchinson said the housing consolidation is integral to U.S. forces reducing our footprint in Iraq.
“Because we are the way we are, we are going to leave the base better than we got it,” Hutchinson said. “It’s the American way.”
| Date Taken: | 03.05.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 03.13.2011 06:41 |
| Story ID: | 66965 |
| Location: | SALAH AD DIN, IQ |
| Web Views: | 113 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Department of State request 3,500 JBB housing units, by SrA Tong Duong, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
