Kunsan Airmen move on up

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Angela Ruiz
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Almost 400 Wolf Pack Airmen said goodbye to roommates and started lugging their possessions to a brand new $27 million dormitory July 26. 

More than 380 Airmen from the 8th Security Forces Squadron, 8th Civil Engineer, Squadron, 8th Force Support Squadron, 8th Medical Group and 8th Fighter Wing Staff are currently moving into the dormitory--the second of four to be built here. 

The new 384-room dormitory was designed according to the Dorms-4-Airmen concept. Four Airman each have 128 square feet of living space made up of a private bedroom, bathroom and walk in closet. The rooms open up onto a shared common area with a kitchen that includes a microwave, refrigerator, stove, table. 

"They're a lot better," said Senior Airman Kevin Griffin, 8th Fighter Wing. "In the old dorms I had a roommate so whenever I was talking to my wife there wasn't that much privacy or alone time. Now I can talk to her and have a decent conversation, and not worry about a roommate or a TV in the background." 

Determining who would move into the new dorms was done by taking into consideration the condition of existing dorms and the need to maintain group integrity. In September of 2007 the first dormitory opened and houses junior Airmen from the 8th Maintenance Squadron. With two dormitories completed, two more remain to be built. 

"Our airmen here at Kunsan are very dedicated and committed to defending our base, accepting follow on forces and taking the fight north; they truly live our mission statement," said Chief Master Sgt. Cathy Johnson, 8th Fighter Wing command chief master sergeant. "In order for them to do that they need a good place to both live and work. Providing those dorms not only improves morale, but morale as we all know as leaders improves productivity." 

"My morale has gone up," said Airman 1st Class Blair Colbert, 8th Force Support Squadron. "I had seen the dorms at 504 so I kind of had an idea what it was going to look like, but I didn't expect it to be this nice." 

The next two dorms to be built are scheduled to open in 2010 and 2011. The remaining junior Airmen are scheduled to move into the 2010 dormitory. The remaining dorm will be home to Kunsan's NCOs. 

"In addition to these new dorms we are in the process of renovating a lot of our older dorms" said 1st Lt. Andrew Boykin, 8th Civil Engineer Squadron. "The NCO dormitories are currently having the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and plumbing renovated. Renovation is taking approximately three months for each building, once the HVAC and plumbing has been renovated the NCO's of the Wolf Pack and any additional Airmen will be moved into the renovated dormitories."

"We also have five company grade and field grade officer dorms that are set for HVAC and pluming renovations," said Lieutenant Boykin, "[we] are in the process of attempting to get funding for two more officer dorms."

Quality-of-life is a key concern for Air Force leadership, and according to Chief Johnson taking care of the Wolf Pack Airmen is the right thing to do. 

"When I was an Airman however we lived three sometimes four to a room, we had open bay showers, open bay latrines and none of the privacy or personal considerations that our Airmen today are afforded," said Chief Johnson. "Hands down this is 100 percent better than the living accommodations I had as an Airman. 

"Quality of life is one of the most important things we can do for our Airmen in terms of developing them and taking care of them," said the Chief.