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Sheppard recovers from winter storms

  • Published
  • By John Ingle
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  The winter storms that blasted through Sheppard Air Force Base and North Texas in two consecutive weeks recently did more than hit near- or below-zero temperatures. It also hit Sheppard hard in the pocket book.

According to figures consolidated by the 82nd Comptroller Squadron from organizations across the Wing, it will cost an estimated $594,000 to repair damages caused by the January and February storms. That number could continue to rise.

"Sheppard Air Force Base experienced more than 300 issues requiring engineering fixes from the recent storms," said Lt. Col. Bradley McDonald, 82nd Mission Support Group deputy commander. "The majority of items involved broken water pipes, leaking roofs, heating problems and the bursting of fire suppression sprinkler systems."

While that's a lot of work, it could have been worse if the base had not been as well prepared as it was. The Mission Support Group had teams in place before the storm hit to address problems as quickly as possible, and facility managers kept a close watch on their buildings.

Even so, the age of many of Sheppard's facilities and the severity of the storms--especially the cold--made much of the damage unavoidable, according to Colonel McDonald.

"When you combine 70-year-old infrastructure with record, sub-zero temperatures, it's almost impossible to completely prevent frozen pipes, heating system breakdowns and other problems in all 400-plus buildings across the base," he said. "The fact that we got the mission back on track as quickly we did says a lot about the dedication and capability of our mission support team."

Some of the repairs have already been made, Colonel McDonald said, and the rest will be completed according to a prioritized list.

"We try to fix what we can on the spot," he said, "but in many cases we have to order parts. When you're dealing with 30- and 40-year-old systems, it's not like you can go down to the local hardware shop and grab things off the shelf."

While the storms highlighted the base's ability to respond to harsh weather, they also put a spotlight on a broader challenge at Sheppard: improving our aging and deteriorating infrastructure.

"We're facing some serious challenges at Sheppard," said Mark McBurnett, the base civil engineer. "Some you can see and many you can't. A large part of our wastewater system, for example, is 50, 60 and even 70 years old. We also have some very old buildings--the five World War II-era hangars come immediately to mind."

Keeping old systems and buildings functioning takes a lot of work and a lot of money. In today's tight fiscal environment, that often means making hard choices between competing priorities.

"We use the Facility Board process to set our priorities and allocate funds," Mr. McBurnett said. "This process allows commanders from both wings and all the groups to advocate for projects important to their units. At the end of the day, we have a prioritized list to work from that's approved ultimately by the installation commander."

First on the list are "must fund" projects. These projects have to be completed to meet a specific requirement, such as an environmental regulation, a safety issue or an Air Force Instruction. There are 16 such projects on Sheppard's list totaling $945,000.

Next on the list are 53 "discretionary" projects--"discretionary" being a relative term, according to Colonel McDonald.

"These are not 'nice to have' kinds of projects--they are things that really need to be addressed to improve our mission and quality of life. In many cases, if we don't fix them soon, they'll become 'must-funds' before long."

An example is the exhaust system in one of the 782nd Training Group's equipment repair labs in Building 1956. In high wind conditions, the system becomes overwhelmed and exhaust is actually blown back into the lab. The lab avoids a safety violation by moving work outside if weather permits or simply halting work in the area--not an ideal solution for mission efficiency. The estimated $48,000 project to fix the system is currently number two on Sheppard's discretionary list.

In all, the 16 must fund projects and 53 discretionary projects on Sheppard's list will cost about $6.3 million to complete--and that's where the challenge comes in. Because there is not yet a formal budget for fiscal 2011, the base does not know what the budget for the year will be and how much can be allocated to facility projects.

"Right now, we're working under the assumption that we'll be at the same funding level we were at last year-- when about $2.2 million was dedicated to facility projects," said Colonel McDonald. "That would allow us to get through all 16 'must funds' and the first 11 discretionary projects."

That's assuming that Air Education and Training Command is able to reimburse the base for the costs of repairing the storm damage, as it has done in previous years.

"AETC has always been very supportive in helping us deal with unexpected costs from things like storms and floods," Colonel McDonald said. "But the fact is that money is tight all across the Air Force, and in an unpredictable fiscal environment, nothing is guaranteed."

If AETC is unable to reimburse the nearly $600,000 in storm damage, much of that bill will have to paid from Sheppard's facility budget, meaning fewer discretionary projects will get done.

"There are hard choices to be made, but we're going to continue working hard to keep the mission going and give our people the best facilities we can with the resources we have," said Colonel McDonald.