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Show Hilltop Times November 24, 2004 When it comes to dorms, and dorm inspections.*. 'this isn't your father's Air Force' people in the dorms nearly as long as we once did,".he 75th Air Base Wing Public said. "When I was in the Affairs dorm, you moved out when you made senior airman or Times change. got married. Most of our According to several base Airmen today can handle first sergeants, no where is living on the economy, budthat more apparent than in geting rent and other Air Force dormitories and expenses. But for a few it is dormitory inspections. "Back in the day, we had one too early and they have or two roommates and four some financial problems." or more people sharing the Senior Master Sgt. Arnel same bathroom," said Mas- Rivera, first sergeant for ter Sgt. Mike McManus, first the 84th Radar Evaluation sergeant for the 729th Air Con- Squadron, had a very simitrol Squadron. "And there lar experience as an Airwere no bath tubs." man. Sergeant McManus said "We had to share rooms," when he was an Airman, he said. "Only staff there were even a few of the sergeants and above got to old gang-latrine dorms still live off base. We didn't have in use. our own bathrooms — we "Due to the one-personhad to walk down the hall to per-room standards we use the showers and toilet." have today, we don't keep Sergeant Rivera, said by Master Sgt. Elton Price dorms today are more like studio apartments. Rooms in Dorm 341, one of newest dormitories on base, come complete with full-size refrigerators, stoves and microwaves. On the second floor is a large, communal balcony with wrought-iron tables and a soda machine. Dormitory residents also have access to large storage lockers and a TV room on each floor. Most rooms have motion sensors in the entry way to turn the lights on upon entry. That's quite the contrast to what Sergeant Rivera experienced as an Airman. "We didn't even have phone lines in each room —• we had to use pay phones down the hall." He also said bay orderly duties were more strictly the 75th Mission Support Squadron, said she tries to treat her dormitory residents like adults. "In years past, first sergeants might have given the rooms the 'white glove' inspection," she said. "But, the only areas I'm really picky about are the bathrooms and kitchen areas, because they have to share." Though most inspections go smoothly, the first( . , sergeants said they sometimes do come across dirty rooms, contraband, and even jokers. "Years ago, someone left a note that said, 'Shirt: There's beer in the fridge.' I guess they wanted me to go easy on them,1" Chief : Waddell said. Sergeant McManus said enforced. As for dormitory inspections, Sergeants Rivera and McManus said inspections were not only tougher back in their day, but random — first sergeants could inspect their room at any v time with little warning. 'Today, there is no excuse for failing a dorm inspection when you know it's on the third Thursday of every month," Sergeant McManus said. "We allow for more privacy now, which is a good thing, but along with the privacy and fewer inspections comes more responsibility on the Airmen's part to police their own. Again, most Airmen accept this responsibility." Chief Master Sgt. Mary Waddell, first sergeant for his inspections have turned up paintball guns, knifes with blades well over the allowable 3-inch maximum, swords and sword-making materials, alcohol in underage people's rooms, and "water pipes." "And these were found during scheduled dorm inspections, not 'surprise' inspections," he said. So, what was the "weirdest" thing they've ever found? Well, according to Sergeant Rivera, thafd have to be a guinea pig. "When I inspected a dorm here two years a go, an Airman had a guinea pig in a cage hidden under his sink. The sink had a curtain around it to hide its contents," he said. "I suppose it was his pet." . Ogden ALC Engineering directorate goes beyond the basics engineer here. "The training is all engineering that we see in college, but we see it in a different way here." But for the Engineering Directorate, the training is about more than system safety or addressing unique Air Force engineering problems. "The training is a cost avoidance issue as well," Mr. Alder said. "The more engineering we can do in house, the fewer engineers we need to contract out for, and the lower the engineering costs for the Center, and the Air Force, are." Because of disparities in pay between government engineers and corporate engineers, and overhead costs associated with contracting out for engineers, training Air Force engineers in necessary skills can mean significantly lower engineering cost, he said. The training can save up to $140,000 per year per engineer here, Mr. Alder said. The directorate, which is responsible for all Center science and engineering resources, hosted more than 10 different training courses throughout the year. The training focused on topics ranging from basic engineering refreshers to system safety and reliability to project management. "We wanted to reduce the risks surrounding both aging Air Force technology and inexperienced engineers," he said. "It takes people to correctly apply engineering to problems, so we're making sure they're prepared for the engineering issues they'll be working." The training addresses problems unique to both new technologies and aging technologies, and for new and seasoned engineers. "By providing this training, we're keeping the Air Force current and effective," Mr. Alder emphasized. "Weapon systems are flying longer than they were intended to, and we now have unique engineering problems that we didn't anticipate," Mr. Alder said. "We're fixing components we didn't expect to fix and retrofitting older systems with new technology." The training also gives engineers here the knowledge they need to ensure system safety when dealing with the unique engineering issues. "In the .[aircraft battle damage repair] training, they taught us how to evaluate battle damage and normal damage, and gave us a pro'cess that we can apply to make it simpler," said 1st Lt. Shelley Raska, a T-37/T-38 structural by 1st Lt. Caroline Wellman Ogden AtC Public Affairs During the last fiscal year, the Ogden ALC's Engineering Directorate spent $271,000 to train engineers, adapting their formal educations to better serve the Air Force's unique needs and ultimately save the Air Force money. "We're really training engineers to be better engineers," said Rudy Alder, a consulting engineer in the Engineering Directorate. "The core training we give them fills in the holes that their engineering educations may not completely prepare them for." In essence, the training helps convert raw engineering knowledge into complete engineering knowledge, a more valuable Air Force asset. Specifically, the training covers material designed to enhance core engineering skills needed to meet specific Air Force engineering issues such as retrofitting new technology into old weapons systems and addressing aircraft battle damage repair. "One of the goals of the Engineering Directorate,"Alder said, "is to help engineers be better engineers, to help them do their jobs better." S FREE EXTRA 15 OFF EARLY BIRD AWARD CARD! BE ONE OF THE 1ST 300 CUSTOMERS IN EACH STORE & GET A $15 AWARD CARD TO USE ON ANY SALE OR CLEARANCE PURCHASE. See Award Card for details. AM-11PM US FIRST! STARTS FRIDAY liM'/ m W-S YEAR INTEREST FREE" * rmmt m /& iSS\\- *>*? QJ fci «*.m. 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