Q&A pt. I: Quality of Life, Infrastructure, Leadership, and Community Published Feb. 11, 2016 By Col. Laura Lenderman 375th Air Mobility Wing commander SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- During my last Commander's Call, 375th AMW Airmen used a smart phone application called "Presentain" to submit questions (anonymously) about any topic on their minds. I received hundreds of questions and have been providing answers to many of them through wing-wide emails and now in the base paper. I'll post the responses to all of the questions on a sharepoint site for future access and review. Please keep the questions coming! QUALITY OF LIFE Why can't we have a cat, dog, or other small animal in the dorms? Most pets are not allowed in the single-Airmen dorms for several reasons. First, we feel that it's unfair to the pets to be alone in a dorm room for a full working shift. In addition, pet foods tend to attract rodents, and the noise and even smell of some pets would be inconsiderate for neighbors living in such close proximity. However, please note that we do allow residents to have fish if the tank is no larger than 20 gallons; just complete the Dorm Pet Letter and have it signed by a first sergeant and your dormitory leader. Thanks for understanding! Will there be another Airshow soon? Glad you asked, and I'm happy to report that we will indeed have one June 10-11 in 2017 featuring the USAF Thunderbirds! We'll be celebrating Scott AFB's 100 year anniversary, and planning is already underway to make this a world-class event! INFRASTRUCTURE Will they move the train track for security? While there are no plans to move the train tracks, we do have a robust, redundant security system in place across the installation. We are also pursuing additional security measures to ensure we continue to reduce risk at all of our base access points. Why can't we get the inside track certified? What would that entail? The inside track is certified to accomplish the fitness assessment, and we use it anytime there is inclement weather. Why don't we have a choice to run our PT test on the inside track? Some people prefer to run indoors vs. outdoor. Unfortunately, our manning is limited so that means we need to use just one venue for the run portion of the Fitness Assessment vs. simultaneously testing on the inside and outside tracks. In addition, one of the reasons we were able to receive funding for such a world-class, all-weather track is because it is our primary venue for the Fitness Assessment. With the Rieder Road/exit near completion, is there plan for an expansion of the Cardinal Creek Gate? Can you give us a status on the Cardinal Creek, DISA, I-64 interchange? We have a plan for a new Cardinal Creek Gate and are awaiting the authority to fund the project. Inside the fence line, we have plans to widen the Cardinal Creek Road to two lanes in each direction with a central median, which would also contain a center turn lane. We hope to receive authorization and funding this fiscal year or the next year. Outside the fence, we have a plan to add a new visitor's center, a new commercial vehicle inspection station, and an updated/modern gate complex. The infrastructure would also include additional force protection measures built into the project. We are also working with our local legislature to ensure the new interstate exchange has sufficient road connectivity to our planned Cardinal Creek Gate expansion. Given the population growth on the north east side of the base, particularly with the new Defense Information Systems Agency facility, we believe a new gate will help better distribute our automobile population and use the new Rieder Road Exit. LEADERSHIP What is Leadership Pathways? Leadership Pathways is a program designed to encourage Air Force members to participate in wing programs and activities that strengthen individual, family and unit resilience using the "Four Domains of Fitness: Mental, Physical, Social and Spiritual." Airman are encouraged to seek self-help and learn new skills with the LP model that recognizes participation through leveled tiers: "Wingman," "Leader," and "Warrior." The LP model supports a paradigm shift from negative or problem-focused workshop attendance to positive leadership and self-help. The Scott AFB helping agencies are currently developing a LP curriculum that will be implemented locally this spring. Please contact Amy Uptergrove, 375th AMW Community Support Coordinator, at 256-4353 for more information. COMMUNITY What's the status of the NGA move? The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency currently resides in downtown St Louis, but the agency is considering moving to one of four new locations--two of the sites are in St Louis County, one is in north St Louis, and one is in St Clair County near Scott AFB. The NGA expects to make their decision this spring and is considering various factors, including location (zoning, neighborhood quality, commuting impact), infrastructure (power, traffic and transportation, availability of utilities), development suitability (cost impacts, design restrictions, expansion capability, environmental impacts) and quality of site (configuration, size, topography).