Q&A pt. XI: Personnel, Safety, Dining Facility, Facilities, and Miscellaneous

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Two weeks ago, I ran the 10th in a series of "Q&A" articles, which are in response to questions asked during my last Commander's Call.

This is the 11th article in the series. I'll be posting the responses to all of the questions on a Sharepoint site for future access and review. Please keep the questions coming!

PERSONNEL

Are there any plans to extend High Year Tenure?

The Air Force instituted a High Year Tenure request program for a few critical Air Force Specialty Codes. Please contact the Extensions/Re-enlistments section in the Military Personnel Section on specific eligibility.

Will we return to in-person awards boards as the standard?

We continue to hold in-person boards for the enlisted categories for the Annual Awards.

Why is Military Personnel Flight so slow with amending my orders?

I am sorry that you had a bad experience with your amendments processing. For orders processing, our MPS Airmen work closely with AFPC, as AFPC plays a key role with processing amendments and orders. Once created here at Scott Air Force Base, the orders or amendments must be approved by AFPC, and this could take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks depending on AFPC's workload.

Certain mission-critical situations would allow an order or amendment to go in front of the approval queue at AFPC. If you are still having trouble amending your orders, please let me know so we can get to the root cause of the problem.

SAFETY

I continue to see widespread cell phone use while driving on base ... 95 percent by civilians or dependents. It is not casual or minor, but blatant. Why?

Thank you for bringing this issue to my attention. Distracted driving is a leading cause of accidents today.

Security Forces Airmen are constantly keeping their eyes open for individuals who are not utilizing hands-free devices while talking on their cell phones. However, I will ensure our safety professionals and Security Forces Airmen are reinforcing our policy of no cell phone usage while driving on base.

It's extremely dark in certain parts of Patriots Landing. It makes it dangerous when driving through the neighborhood and also while backing out. Can you put up more lights?

Thank you for your feedback. We maintain constant contact with Hunt Family Housing, the managers of our Military Family Housing areas, and appreciate comments like this that we can provide to Hunt. Please know that Hunt continues to balance many competing interests within the confines of their budget. I'll be sure to include this in my next housing update as a recommendation for improvement for Hunt's consideration.

DINING FACILITY

Will retirees be able to use the Dining Facility under the new dining contract (Food Transformation Initiative)?

Yes, retirees will be allowed to eat in the DFAC under the Food Transformation Initiative. Currently, retirees are welcome to eat at the DFAC for special/holiday meals.

Is there any chance there will be better food options for Airmen in the dorms due to lack of open hours and options?

Yes, Food Transformation will bring a higher industry restaurant standard/variety to the DFAC. However, in the interim, if there is a particular menu item you'd like to see served, please speak to the DFAC personnel and let them know. Our team welcomes all comments to make your DFAC great.

FACILITIES

Can we expect a parking area at the track along with the other improvements?

There were plans to construct new parking near the track between the James Gym and the Track, but unfortunately funding was not available at the end of the last fiscal year. We are optimistic that funding will be available in the future to help alleviate some of the congestion in that area and provide additional parking for our fitness center and track patrons.

Are there any plans to build a new gym?

A new gym has been at the top of my wish list. However, higher mission requirements superseded the funding. In the meantime, we've invested over a million dollars worth of new equipment that we are installing at both gyms. Additionally, renovations are currently underway at both gyms. I hope to see you there.

On a recent survey from the fitness center, it asked if we would be more likely to use the gym if child care was offered. Is there any chance of this happening?

This is a DoD-level on-going discussion. The Fitness Center is also working a partnership with the YMCA to provide additional services to Team Scott. Please stay tuned to 375FSS.com for the latest updates.

However, please note that childcare is not an easy operation to incorporate into a fitness operation due to numerous regulation-based child care safety laws.

Also, space in our fitness center is limited to provide such services. If you have any questions about childcare options available on base, please contact our FSS team as there are many caring child care providers on the installation.

MISCELLANEOUS

Can we just replace AAFES with Target?

Our AAFES partners provide a great product and service not only here at Scott AFB, but also to support our deployed Airmen all around the world ... something another retailer may not be willing or able to do. We hope that you can find they are supporting your needs; if not, please feel free to contact the AAFES manager at our local Exchange to provide your feedback and any recommended areas for improvement.

Why does Scott have breed restrictions for dogs? It keeps so many families from wanting to live on base?

As I'm sure you'll understand, we must consider the safety of all residents within our military family housing communities. The breed restrictions in place are set to ensure breeds which have a questionable temperament are kept off base to help ensure personal safety. Certainly individual dogs within those breeds may be well-tempered, but it is difficult to distinguish, so it is a risk we cannot justify. We also remove dogs of all breeds which have demonstrated an aggressive nature, so we are not simply focused on a short breed list.

Our military housing continues to have high occupancy rates, most recently topping 98 percent.

While we understand that many families have reasons to live off base, I'm confident our pet policy sets a safety standard that most families appreciate in military family housing.

Are there any plans to bring the aero-club back?

Not at this time. Aero Clubs are membership-supported and membership-funded organizations. If sufficient interest is demonstrated that a club would be financially supported, it would be considered.

Can we get a sponsored base softball team? I currently play for the Not Forgotten Illinois softball charter. The team is founded upon remembering POWs.

2) Can you sponsor our soccer club made up of service members?

3) Why don't we have base-sanctioned sports teams?

As a long-time softball player, I love that while playing softball, you're bringing attention to our nation's POWs. Current DoD regulations prohibit the official sponsorship of non-federal entities. However, the DoD operates under an intramural/varsity sports program that feeds into each military component to provide safe, competitive sanctioned programs under the DoD umbrella.

Our current intramural sports leagues provide great opportunities for morale and team-building within the constraints of our AF mission requirements, and there are currently no plans to pursue sanctioned sports teams at Scott.