AFCEE completes state-of-the-art training facility

  • Published
  • By Robert Ginsberg
  • AFCEE
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Engineers at the Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment oversaw construction of the recently completed state-of-the-art training complex here for the Inter American Air Forces Academy, or IAAFA, totaling nearly 75,000 square feet of space.

As a result of base realignment and closure recommendations, IAAFA was directed to consolidate operations at Lackland.

In support of the BRAC effort, AFCEE engineers were given the task of combining seven existing training facilities, equipment and aircraft currently in various locations at Lackland and the neighboring former Kelly AFB.

"The delivery of the IAAFA BRAC (military construction) project was a significant benchmark in AFCEE history," said AFCEE project manager Micah Shuler. "The sheer size and complexity of this project took a collaborative team effort from our engineers, construction specialists and project managers and showcases our ability to execute large-scale MILCON efforts."

Following the request of Peru's minister of aeronautics Gen. Fernando Melgar in 1943, IAAFA has been training partner-nation aerospace forces since.

Today, the IAAFA team teaches 37 technical courses, in Spanish and English, to students from more than 22 countries per year.

To enhance IAAFA's ability to support this mission, AFCEE engineers designed the $18.5 million facility with classroom space, training laboratories, hangars for aircraft and helicopters, a paint shop and a new training taxiway.

The design included "green" features such as underground cisterns to collect rainwater to be reused for irrigation, low-flow toilets, light sensors for classrooms and a construction waste management plan to recycle approximately 75 percent of all construction debris.

The inclusion of environmentally friendly features and green building techniques made the facility a candidate for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, silver rating. To be considered for a LEED certification, a facility must be designed and constructed with sustainable features, use recyclable materials when possible and use energy-efficient lighting and appliances.

The facility also contributes to the 20/20 by 2020 Air Force initiative, by optimizing space with the merging of seven existing installations while reusing the old training sites as Port San Antonio lease space. The initiative aims to reduce owned, leased and Air Force-led joint base real property and associated operating costs by 20 percent by the year 2020.

"We are proud to have been involved with a project that continues AFCEE's mission of delivering sustainable solutions and contributes to the 20/20 by 2020 Air Force initiative," said Ben Kindt, AFCEE capital investment execution construction branch chief. "AFCEE is staying proactive to ensure Air Force installations are designed and constructed for maximum efficiency and sustainability."