Building a Better Future

By next June, the headquarters renovation of 17th Air Force, the air component to US Africa Command, should be complete at Ramstein AB, Germany. But for now, work continues on the $6.3 million project, which began in October 2008. This requires the headquarters staff to conduct business while the major construction activities go on around them. “This is something unprecedented in my career,” said MSgt. Eric Dumpert, a 17th AF infrastructure support manager, explaining that he’s never seen “this much construction while we kept something 100 percent operational.” Indeed, he said, about 30 percent of the building is under construction at any given time. Major work includes reconfiguring the 617th Air and Space Operations Center, creating classified work areas, installing fiber optics, and upgrading the facility’s electrical capacity. The HQ is also getting new carpeting, furniture, and sidewalks. (Ramstein report by MSgt. Jim Fisher)