17 LRS manifests SAISD partnership

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Carl Dethloff and U.S. Air Force Col. Tony England, 17th Mission Support Group commander, shake hands after signing a memorandum of agreement, manifesting the 17th Training Wing to share vehicle mechanics and technicians with SAISD inside the San Angelo Independent School District Administration Building, in San Angelo, Texas, Feb. 21, 2020. Mission permitting and space available, 17 Logistics Readiness Squadron will provide the labor to perform maintenance and inspections on SAISD support vehicles. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Abbey Rieves)

Goodfellow Airmen read to McGill Elementary School students

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Brianna Cash, 17th Comptroller Squadron financial analyst, shows a page from “Hunches in Bunches” to a fifth grade class at McGill Elementary School in San Angelo, Texas, Feb. 27, 2020. Older students enjoy the readings because it is a break from the fast tempo of school and they have a chance to interact with someone that may have the job they want. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Ethan Sherwood)

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U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Shane Myers, 17th Security Forces Squadron military working dog handler, shows off his partner Hugo, 17th SFS K-9, during the Operation KIDS event on Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, Nov. 3, 2018. The 17th SFS trains the K-9s to detect, deny and deter would be adversaries from gaining access to base, they are also trained to detect explosives. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Senior Airman Seraiah Hines/Released)

DEAAG: Grants benefiting Goodfellow and the Tom Green County

Published April 3, 2020
By Senior Airman Seraiah Wolf
17th Training Wing Public Affairs

GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --

March 31, 2020, marked a moment of positivity during the COVID-19 outbreak. Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, announced new grants benefiting multiple bases in Texas. Goodfellow and Tom Green County are one of the bases and communities to receive grant money.

Goodfellow Air Force Base and Tom Green County have a long-standing relationship of working together, proven through their many agreements that benefit both parties.

The Defense Economic Adjustment Assistance Grant Program is an infrastructure grant program designed to assist defense communities that have been positively or negatively impacted by a change or announced change by the DoD.

“The strength of our military communities in Texas is unparalleled in part because of state support like the DEAAG program,” said Abbott. “Not only are the 15 major military installations and Army Futures Command in Texas critical to the defense of our nation, they also add over $101 billion to the state’s economy and support, directly and indirectly, more than 224,000 jobs in communities across this great state. Now more than ever, this support is critical.”

The scoring for applications for the grant is based on military value, project completion, dual military and community benefit, National Defense Strategy, new missions, resiliency, cost efficiency, significance of impact and funding contributions.

Tom Green County received $5,000,000 for project resiliency funds to power infrastructure, human resiliency and communications infrastructure, benefiting San Angelo and Goodfellow. The total amount of money being awarded to different bases in Texas is $14.1 million, granted from the DEAAG program. This assists communities across Texas that could be impacted by a future Base Realignment and Closure round.

“Some of the projects that the grant money will be used to complete are improving installation resiliency through an energy management project,”said Col Nicholas Anderson, 17th Civil Engineer Squadron commander. “We are looking at installing solar panels and natural gas or diesel powered generators to improve energy resiliency creating a backup system and doing load shedding. We are also looking at a 5G network on the base which will improve communication capabilities.”

Anderson also mentioned there are plans to build new outdoor physical fitness areas. There will also be an increase to the military working dog training area and the purchase of a hazmat response trailer.

“The hazmat response trailer and the working dog training area will help the city of San Angelo because of mutual aid agreements we have in place with them,” said Anderson. “Thank you to the members of Tom Green County, the city of San Angelo, and all of the civic leaders that have been working with us. There have been a lot of community members step in and help us with the grant package and coming up with these projects that would benefit the military members who come here and also support the National Defense Strategy.”