Mission Focus: maintaining the KMC exterior

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Kay M. Nissen & Tech. Sgt. Leonard Y. Collins
  • 86th Airlift Wing
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany --  This article is part one of a three part series highlighting the mission of the 786th Civil Engineering Squadron.

What exactly does it take to maintain the exterior function and appearance of the Kaiserslautern Military Community? As part of the 786th Civil Engineering Squadron, which manages 10,770,000 square feet of airfield, more than 4,703 acres of land on both Ramstein and 19 other geographically separated units, there are two sections that contribute to maintaining, constructing and repairing the roads we drive on and the structures we use every day.

The "K flight" heavy equipment shop maintenance section consists of 34 personnel and is broken down into two different shops: Pavements/heavy equipment shop and grounds shop. Together the Airmen maintain, construct and repair on 1.2 million square meters of pavement and 544 facilities on 19 KMC installations worth over $3.1 billion.

The Airmen of heavy equipment maintain and repair perimeter and security fencing on all facilities and installations. The pavements and grounds shop also conduct snow and ice removal operations during the winter season. In addition, they operate snow plows, salt spreaders and other heavy equipment for 1.4 million square meters of road.

Tech. Sgt. John Varvale, noncommissioned officer in charge of structures explains the sense of accomplishment he and his Airmen receive when completing a job.

"There's a wide range of missions we do," he said. "The biggest part of it is helping with quality of life and morale; it's knowing that we help Airmen focus on their mission."

The "K flight" structures section has a total of 43 technicians and is further broken down into three different shops: The metal/locksmith shop, the paint shop and the structures shop. Together they plan, construct and perform repairs on wooden and masonry real property. The Airmen conduct structural system analysis to insure the structure conforms in accordance with host nation and Air Force requirements.

Technicians have the capabilities to fabricate metal construction components from blueprints or rough sketches utilizing oxyacetylene and arc welding methods. Overall, they support minor construction maintenance on critical infrastructure covering 764 buildings with a total of 8.1 million square feet on 21 GSUs worth $3 billion.

"Heat, water, electric, airfield and facilities are what we maintain. Take these basic needs away and the mission stops," said Tech. Sgt. Leonard Collins, NCOIC of heavy equipment. "If you really think about it, CE has a hand in everything that is done on base, you can't spell Air Force without 'CE.'"

In total, the Airmen of the 786th Civil Engineering Squadron maintain and repair 1,373 facilities, a total of 16.5 million square feet worth $8.2 billion in assets. With approximately 305 military members and 357 host nation members, the 786th supports 53,000 customers, with an average of 27,000 service calls annually. The squadron has two flights, one that works on Ramstein taking care of its Airfield and facilities, and one that works on Einsiedlerhof Air Station taking care of geographically separated units.