SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Here is the next round of Q&As from my most recent Commander’s Call.
I posted these responses and previous Q&A to our wing Sharepoint site and our public website, www.scott.af.mil, for future access and review.
Please keep the questions coming!
PERSONNEL ISSUES
Is there a way we can look at the honor guard program manning commitment?
Thank you for your question! The Scott AFB Honor Guard has the third largest AOR in the Air Force, covering 110,000 square miles across six states. The honor guard travels over 160,000 miles annually supporting over 4,000 military funeral honors, making it the busiest honor guard in Air Mobility Command and second busiest in the Air Force!
The number of Airmen we currently have detailed to support honor guard operations is the bare minimum needed to support the congressionally mandated military funeral honors requirement. Any other honor guard detail requests are done as manning and availability allow.
We reviewed the honor guard program manning commitment during our semi-annual Augmentee Review Board. This review also includes our commitment to other programs such as mobility machine, snow removal, and security forces augmentation. The manning commitment reviewed during the ARB is based on manning and availability of all E1-E6 personnel assigned to the installation. Each squadron’s honor guard augmentation support requirement is based on the total number of available Airmen in each squadron, meaning there is an equitable distribution across all units based on fair-share available manning.
For example, if squadron A has a larger manning pool than squadron B, then squadron A would be tasked to provide more manning than squadron B. In 2015 a manpower study was accomplished that validated the number of augmentees the honor guard required based on the number of funeral details performed annually and the square miles the Scott AFB Honor Guard covers.
If this doesn’t fully answer your question, please don’t hesitate to contact me or Chief Mathias. We want to make sure we address your specific concerns on this important topic.
INSTALLATION & FACILITIES
Are there any plans for road improvements on Pryor Drive coming through Cardinal Creek Gate? It’s like navigating a minefield.
Great question, and we have good news. On Aug. 10, we awarded a three-phase project that will expand Pryor Drive to a four-lane road with a center median.
This project will also consist of removing existing curb and gutter, storm sewer piping and inlets on Pryor Drive. The pavement will be replaced with a four-lane raised median boulevard as depicted in the rendering above. We are in the beginning stages of design. When the design is complete, the project will progress into the construction phase with plenty of advanced notice to the base populace. We expect this project to be completed in 2018.
What is the point in having a no left turn sign behind the Exchange when people ignore it and it’s not enforced?
The “no left turn” sign on the service road on the south end of the Exchange was installed to alleviate a variety of safety concerns including obstructed/limited view of oncoming traffic and the proximity of the railroad crossing.
The service road was designed for delivery trucks and emergency response vehicles and not for general traffic. The “no left turn” sign is intended to prevent large vehicles from attempting a left turn due to their large turn radius, and also to guide them towards the loading dock towards their right.
However, the sign is also meant for smaller vehicles, such as passenger vehicles.
Our Security Forces professionals engage on all witnessed violations of the law—to include at this potentially dangerous intersection.
Our goal is to ensure safety of personnel and also to inform and correct behavior. Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. We’ll continue to keep an eye on this intersection.
MISCELLANEOUS
Will all units on base be participating in the future active shooter exercises? The last one ended up only affecting the Mission Support Group.
While a recent active shooter exercise took place primarily in a Mission Support Group facility, the response tested units across the wing, to include several of our mission and community partners.
The nature of this type of exercise typically keeps it relatively contained in a specific area of the installation; however, all units across the installation are involved to some degree. Our objectives for active shooter exercises include not just the actions of our First Responders, but also the communication flow across the installation, as well as individual unit actions. This affords all units the opportunity to exercise their lockdown and accountability procedures.
Each organization on Scott AFB has Wing Inspection Team members assigned to work with the commanders to identify unit-specific eeds for exercise participation. Should unit commanders have specific requirements they would like to include in any of our exercises, we encourage WIT members to bring these inputs into the planning process to maximize the value of each exercise.
I was golfing on base during inclement weather, and it was impossible to understand what was being said on the Giant Voice. How are golfers alerted during inclement weather?
Thank you for your concern. Our Command Post, in conjunction with our Radio Frequency system technicians confirmed that the Giant Voice speaker, closest to the golf course, located next to the Illinois National Guard Minute Man statue, is fully functional.
During inclement weather the base Giant Voice system is most commonly used to announce when lightning has been observed within five miles of the base. The Giant Voice will only use a steady siren or alarm when there is a Tornado Warning. After the storm has passed, the Giant Voice will announce that the lightning within five miles warning is no longer in effect.
The volume and clarity of Giant Voice messages depends on the distance from the closet speaker, and can be degraded by wind and rain. The staff at Cardinal Creek use a bullhorn siren at the clubhouse to further notify golfers that they should take immediate shelter due to weather. Cardinal Creek also offers rain checks to golfers who lose their tee times or have their round of golf interrupted due to inclement weather.
In the event that you are not able to clearly hear Giant Voice messages or the bullhorn siren while golfing during inclement weather, be cautious and take shelter! You can call the clubhouse at (618) 744-1400, Option #1 to confirm safety of continued play. If ever in doubt of what the Giant Voice is announcing, anywhere on base, or if you become aware of faulty speakers, please contact the Scott Command Post at 256-5891.