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Show HILLTOP TIMES H i lltop S August 21, 2014 9 Plans made for commercial use of Hill runway 13y ANTONE CLARK Hilltop Times staff L AYTON - Access to runway space at Hill Air Force Base is an economic tool city officials can't wait to offer to the right client. It could be happening soon. Kent Andersen, deputy director of economic development, said city officials have a scheduled meeting with the board of the Military Installation Defense Authority on Sept. 9. The meeting will include review of a project area plan, which would create access to runway facilities immediately south of the F-22 Heavy Maintenance Facilities on the east side of the Hill runway for potential tenants at the East Gate Business Park. The draft plan has to be circulated to all affected taxing en- tities 10 days prior to the board meeting for review and comment. If approved, the MIDA Project Area Plan will be a key marketing piece used to attract potential tenants, Andersen said. The plan also extends a unique approach to public facilities for private business to a new area of the base. The Falcon Hill development on the west side of the base is the first evidence of the approach by the U.S. Air Force. Andersen said the shared runway possibility is a result of a partnership the city created with Hill in March of 2013. In July of 2013, the city received approval from Hill to begin marketing approximately 90 acres on the east side of the runway for potential shared use. Runway access on base could Hilltop Times staff The first F-35 Lightning II to receive organic modifications at the Ogden Air Logistics Complex. have significant appeal to the right company, Andersen said. "A driving factor for the project is that a potential tenant that has need of a runway may have ancillary needs that cannot be accomplished "inside the fence" in the Joint Use Runway area (e.g. manufacturing, warehousing, etc.), and will need facilities outside the gate," Andersen said. "This proximity, and the po- tential ability to enter through the HAFB East Gate, provides a unique opportunity for the right tenant to have multiple types of operations within close distance to one another," he added. CMSAF AT FAMILY SUMMIT PANEL SENIOR AIRMAN MARY O'DELL/U.S. Air Force Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers speaks with other members of the Fairchild Military Family Summit panel during the opening discussion with audience members at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington. This Congressional Military Family Caucus afforded military family members the opportunity to discuss various issues in an open forum, then later broke off into sessions discussing specific topics such as education, healthcare and transitioning from military life. Congressional representatives discuss military family life BY SENIOR AIRMAN MARY O'DELL, 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs F AIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. — Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody participated in a Congressional Military Family Caucus at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., Aug. 14, affording more than 100 military family members the opportunity to discuss various issues with congressional representatives and Air Force leadership. Washington Rep. Cathy McMorrisRodgers and Georgia Rep. Sanford D. Bishop Jr., co-chairs of the Caucus, hosted the event, and gathered information about the issues concerning military families. "We have a fundamental responsibility to our country to forward the best military options to our leadership, but we can't let that come at the sacrifice of many things that are important and make a difference in every one of our lives," Cody said. "That's why it's important to communicate with our legislature who is there to help keep that balance." The Congressional Military Family Caucus seeks to educate members of Congress and their staff on resources the military has for families. The overall goal is to bring together members of Congress, administrative officials, service members and their families in a common purpose to draw attention to the needs of military families and advocate legislative ideas on their behalf. "As the proud representative of Eastern Washington's military community, the issues affecting military families are especially important to me," McMorris-Rodgers explained during the event. "These conversations matter and this Caucus is one that is working to bring your voice to the forefront." This is the fourth summit held with military families since the CMFC was founded in 2009. "We can't rest on the progress we have made in the past," Bishop said. "We have to continue to work on areas that need improvement and explore new areas of concern." Cody's wife, Athena, along with Lt. Col. Lisa McLeod, the 141st Maintenance Squadron commander and Janna Keller, a 92nd Force Support Squadron Airman and family services flight chief, joined Cody and the congressmen as part of the panel that listened and responded to member's concerns during a questions and anSee PANEL I Page 10 Service Members Receiving RAND Military Workplace Survey By Defense Media Activity F ORT MEADE, Md. — About 580,000 service members have begun receiving emails or letters inviting them to participate in the first RAND Military Workplace Study, Defense Department officials said. Active and reserve component members in all mili- tary branches and the Coast Guard are being invited to participate. "The survey is unprecedented in its scale and will influence policies that affect everyone in the services," defense officials said. The survey is voluntary and confidential. No one at the Defense Department will ever see how an individual service member responds, officials stressed. "No service member may be ordered or pressured to complete the survey or not to complete it," officials said. Survey respondents can forward the survey to their personal email addresses and they can complete the survey on smart phones. Ser- vice members can use duty time to complete the survey. Service members will not all see the same survey questions. The study will help commanders at all levels evaluate current military workplace relations, professionalism and personal safety, officials said. It will have important implications for how the military operates. It can have implications on military training, justice and services. The survey is being conducted independently of the Department of Defense by experts at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation. A full and public report of the RAND findings will be available in May 2015. |