DISA breaks ground for new facility Published Nov. 13, 2013 By Staff Sgt. Maria Bowman 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- A groundbreaking ceremony for a new Defense Information Systems Agency facility was held yesterday near the Cardinal Creek Gate, which will replace the current facility, Bldg. B3189, and two other locations. Construction is scheduled to be completed in December 2015. "This building will allow us to command, control and defend the Department of Defense's information network," said Col. Nora Marcos, DISA Continental United States commander. "We have more than 750 personnel assigned to the organization who are spread out over multiple locations. Building this facility will allow us to bring them into one location." According to Marcos, safety concerns and economic issues are also reasons for the new facility. Marcos said, "The safety factor is a concern. Because we are on the flightline, we can't have lights on outside at night and we have a 24-hour staff. In addition, it is more economic for the government because we won't have to rent space off base anymore, and our mission is expanding as we take on a more global mission. Moving to this building allows us to execute that more efficiently." The DISA commander said the current main facility isn't built to handle major environmental hazards, and this new facility will be better equipped to handle emergency situations. "With weather patterns here, we need to be in a more secure facility, both physical and structural. This is especially important to the criticality of our mission," she said. Jacob Freeman, DISA Military Construction project manager, said the new building will be an actual brick building and will have a structure shelter-in-place. "The structure shelter-in-place will house the entire populous of DISA CONUS area, so we won't have to bug out in a tornado; we can stay in there and continue working," he said. In addition to the shelter-in-place, the facility will be able to hold 830 personnel working at one time. Personnel will also be able to enjoy a new fitness center and cafeteria. Marcos said building their new facility over near the Cardinal Creek gate will benefit future plans to expand the gate, with a proposed new exit off I-64 in the coming years. "Cardinal Creek gate is going to expand in the future," she said. "By us moving over there, we provide the power infrastructure to enable that to be a 24/7 gate in the future." The construction should not have a great impact on people's ability to get on the base. Officials said they are expecting a higher number of vehicles on the road, but it should not impede traffic getting on the base. Marcos said she is excited for the construction to begin and looks forward to being able to provide a great working environment for the people who work at DISA CONUS. "I'm proud that the people here who work so hard are going to be rewarded for their hard work," she said. "People work here every day of the year, defending a network; they are unsung heroes. If ever there is an issue on the DoD's network, the great folks here have a hand in fixing it. This is a small way to thank them for their dedication." Building B3189 will be torn down when operations move to the new building.