CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
What is the 437th Civil Engineer Squadron Housing Flight?
The typical answer is, "The guys who ride around and write me up for not cutting my grass."
Yes, that is the housing flight, but what else do they do for Charleston AFB?
The first person many incoming families meet at Charleston AFB while checking into base housing is either Virginia Ford or Hazel Alford, housing management specialists. The average wait while checking in and being able to receive the keys to military family housing is about 10 minutes. Families can get the keys to a house quicker than most fast food restaurants can get a hamburger.
Most families have to worry about getting the water and electricity turned on when moving into a new area. This is a turn-key operation where your water and electricity are on the moment you walk into your home. Between them and the housing assistance chief they keep housing assistance running in an orderly manner. They also keep up-to-date information available on rental units, real estate agents and houses for sale in the local area.
Then there are the guys who write you up for not cutting your lawn. The housing inspectors are who many people dread to see coming around the corner with their ticket books. Military housing residents forget these are the same people who assure the houses are clean, freshly painted, the grass is cut and everything is in working order when an incoming family moves into military family housing. The housing inspectors are also the individuals who stay behind the landscape maintenance contractors in order to maintain housing common areas and unoccupied housing. The housing inspectors work closely with the housing maintenance office to keep the houses up and running, making sure to give a fully functional house that is almost like a new home
Then there are the dorm managers who work for the dorm superintendent. These dorm managers and the staff who run the dorms are some of the best in the Air Force, if not in all of the Department of Defense. A key part of keeping the dorms running smoothly is the furnishings manager. The furnishings manager is the jack-of-all trades who makes sure the dormitory residents have everything they need.
Still not convinced that the housing flight is here to help, that we truly care about your quality of life, how our goal is to constantly improve the housing and the dorms?
In May, the housing flight acquired plants, shrubs and pine straw for family housing to be distributed at the self-help store on base. For anyone who has not been to the self-help store, there is a multitude of items funded by family housing that will help improve housing.
The housing flight has funded the replacement of roofs in Hunley Park housing, worked on the planning and development of the new senior officer quarters and demolished outdated housing.
The housing flight has improved the playgrounds so children could have a safe place to play.
The housing flight rewards military family housing occupants put in extra effort to maintain their yards by giving out yard of the week and yard of the month awards. Recipients of the yard of the month will be awarded a commemorative clock, a $50 savings bond from Heritage Trust Bank and $25 in Service Bucks.
And of course, there is the work in the dorms. Last year, the basketball court was resurfaced and a major project this year will be the replacement of many of the mattresses in the dorms which is being accomplished with assistance in funding from the 437th Airlift Wing. Also a minor, but important quality of life improvement in the dorm area was the replacement of many in-ground grills with large charcoal grills.
So the next time you think about military family housing, think about all the good things they are doing and continue to improve the quality of life on base.