KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Air Force Civil Engineer Center officials at Joint Base San Antonio, Lackland, Texas, visited Keesler in June to examine and assess the quality of privatized housing on base.
AFCEC officials have been visiting Air Force bases to ensure military members and their families residing in base privatized housing are having their needs met.
“Our goal is to examine and determine if the housing and living conditions are up to standards,” said Louis Screws, AFCEC privatized housing project manager. “We assess the issues and needs and decide the direction of the housing. We observe the performance of maintenance processes, documentation, environmental processes and Military Housing Office inspections.”
The needs of housing residents are AFCEC’s first priority when they visit the base, said Col. Michael Beach, Air Force Privatized Housing Division chief.
“The site visit gives us an opportunity to hear from the residents,” said Beach. “Our team contacts residents and, if available, meets with the resident council. Connecting with the residents through interviews and collecting data helps us provide safe, healthy and quality housing for military residents and families.”
Screws describes how COVID-19 health and safety hazards has impacted the process of collecting the data and interviewing.
“We are being as flexible and adaptive as possible during the virus outbreak,” said Screws. “We are using technology to conduct virtual meetings as well as surveys. We are approaching this from a route that is safer for our team while remaining as efficient as possible.”
AFCEC officials want to ensure military members and their families are being provided with a safe, comfortable environment.
“Our main goal is to ensure the Air Force is providing safe and healthy homes for our military families, and that issues are resolved quickly,” said Beach. “The improvement of processes, collection and dissemination of practices enhances cost-efficiency and spawns innovation. Improving the resident experience and providing quality housing to our military families is a key contributor to military readiness.”