Basic training campus nears completion

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Construction of the new Airman Training Complex No. 1 and its dining-classroom facility continues. The complex is on pace to be finished by late summer. Eventually, four ATCs and two dining-classroom facilities will replace eight Recruit Housing and Training buildings built in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Each new ATC will house up to 1,200 basic trainees. (U.S. Air Force photo/Alan Boedeker)
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Basic training campus nears completion

Posted 2/17/2012

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by Mike Joseph
Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Public Affairs

2/17/2012 - JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas (AFNS) -- The first of the new Air Force Basic Military Training housing campus projects are scheduled to be completed this summer, said U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials.

Daniel Olivas, the resident engineer for the corps, which is the project administrator, said Airman Training Complex No. 1 and Dining-Classroom Facility No. 1 are about two-thirds complete.

"We've had some challenges," said Olivas about the $900 million project.

Construction on ATC No. 1 began in October 2009, followed by DCF No. 1 several months later. ATC No. 2, which was started in 2010, is currently scheduled for a late summer to early fall finish.

"It's been a juggling act," Olivas said. "We have a different contractor for each project plus a small business contractor for the weapons cleaning pavilions, the drill pads and running tracks at each ATC.

"The shortage of real estate within the campus has been a challenge and will continue to be, as is parking for the construction workers," he said. "We have to make work areas available to everyone, so we all have to play well in the sand box together."

The two ATCs and DCF make up one half of the new east housing campus for the Air Force's basic military training. Ground was broken recently on ATC No. 3 and DCF No. 2, and the contract to construct ATc No. 4 is expected to be awarded later this year.

The four ATCs and two DCFs will replace eight Recruit Housing and Training buildings built in the late 1960s and early 1970s, which are scattered around Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. Each new ATC will house up to 1,200 trainees.

The east campus is the first phase to consolidate BMT into a centralized area. A new BMT processing and reception center was approved for funding last year. The center will be located just south of ATC No. 1, adjacent to 737th Training Group headquarters.

Plans have also been designed for a BMT west campus with a projected completion date in 2018. It would duplicate the east campus with four ATCs and two DCFs. The two campuses would be connected by an overhead troop walk but separated a road.

Comments

3/2/2012 7:09:28 AM ET
Whoever mentioned how the facilities were in fine shape, when I went through in 05 I wound up being held over due to Katrina and we had to stay in a condemned dorm due to mold issues and the fact that the far wall was crumbling from the inside out. They almost had to move us again due to that alone. Apparently squadrons were having to scramble for space in recent years due to similar issues and if you went back and looked at those facilities closely they're really showing their age. Something else that hasn't been brought up is the time wasted walking, marching back and forth to every building for processing and appointments and, if anybody's reading this from the 323rd, 320th or 331st from years ago, you know what i'm talking about. Time equals money and maybe with these facilities they can shorten the timeline back to 6 weeks again. Hey AF.mil, why is punctuation considered HTML, this is absurd.

Dave, GA

2/27/2012 10:29:38 AM ET
Retired chief US - Does that mean that we must continue to live in fearCJUSA - No one - including you I'm certain - knew that such an act as 91101 would take place therefore you can safely assume no one is watching too much TV.

Steve, Florida

2/22/2012 10:06:33 PM ET
The money was obligated to this new construction years ago. Your comments about considering the current economy don't apply; the money was spent probably 5 or more years ago. Your antiterrorism concerns are also outdated. A good amount of the cost of this facility was for antiterrorism protection such as bollars blast protection and all the bells and whistles our precious resources deserve. Stop being such a bunch of naysayers and update your situational awareness before you insert outdated comments. Cheers for our BMT program, this is so awesome

Active CMSgt, Seattle

2/22/2012 11:03:13 AM ET
900000000 Words can't convey the level of contempt I have for such waste. As for this being a target, I think some folks are watching too much TV.

CJ, USA

2/22/2012 8:46:11 AM ET
Retired chief, new military construction has taken lessons learned from Beruit, Khobar Towers and even OKC bombing into account and added protective measures. I a basic training complex it is hard not to have a large ammount of people in small areas. The Airman will be much safer in these buildings that the old structures.

MO MSgt, MO

2/22/2012 8:38:04 AM ET
The Air Force says it has to kick out thousands of active duty airmen to save money and yet we can spend a billion dollars on just one complex to house basic trainees. What is wrong with this picture?

Staci, Virginia

2/21/2012 6:04:23 PM ET
First Jeff OCONUS or CONUS no longer applies. Fort Hood is a CONUS installation look what happened there.Second Perhaps some new facilities will allow for improvements to the BMT Program. But 900 million worth I doubt it. I entered BMT in January of '93 and the RHT building we were in was in great shape roof didn't leak heat and ac worked hot showers can't ask for more. Can't imagine they've become completely uninhabitable since then.900 million. Really

EM Troop, Lackland

2/21/2012 2:46:20 PM ET
I haven't seen the plans for these buildings, but I would hope they would include current technology that would lower operating costs for these programs. I do agree $1B is a very steep price and the question becomes are we getting what we are paying for? There are many much older facilities in the Air Force that 1B could have replaced with a much greater reduction in operations costs.

Jerry, Oklahoma

2/21/2012 1:09:50 PM ET
Retired chief is spot on. History has already proven how dangerous it is to put so many eggs into one basket. No base or building is terrorist proof and you can bet a facility housing over 1000 American military personnel will be a very lucrative target. Dispersal of personnel and resources should be a no brainer.

Tammi, Wright-Patt

2/21/2012 12:32:01 PM ET
What are we doing? Babying them? Let's make sure that the trainees have all the comforts of home. No more muster at 4:30 a.m., let them sleep until 7:30 a.m. They need to learn how to wake up to private alarms in their 2 man rooms. What a joke its become.

Retired and tired, Rock Island Arsenal

2/21/2012 11:38:32 AM ET
This folks is what you call low-hanging fruit that should have been plucked before the first shovel hit the ground. A billion dollars? Puhleeeze.

Bob, Wright-Patt

2/21/2012 10:49:39 AM ET
This is similar to the US Army's campus at Ft Leonard Wood, MO. Very safe and efficient. Retired Chief, at least since 1980s BMT dorms have housed large number of airmen. The examples you cite all have a common denominator: they were overseas and not located on a COJNUS military installation.

Jeff, Scott AFB

2/21/2012 10:38:37 AM ET
Retired Chief US: What's your point?

Ret. CMSgt N.C, N.C

2/21/2012 8:18:04 AM ET
Each complex will house up to 1200 airmen. How soon we forget. Khobar Towers 1996. Marine Barracks Lebanon 1983.

Retired chief, US

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