MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa has enjoyed a rejuvenation recently,
including a new U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) building expected to open
late spring or early summer in 2011.
According to Robert Hughes, base civil engineer, the new
CENTCOM facility joins the
268,000-square-foot Intelligence Center that was erected in
2009. In addition, the base's military police have moved into a brand
new, 65,000-square-foot squadron facility and the base's runways have
been refurbished.
With security an obvious priority, Hughes
says that while all buildings on the base are blast resistant, the
base uses a rather simple tactic to further keep pedestrians and cars
safe from attack -- landscaping. "We use rocks, trees and other things to
create stand off distances from our buildings to ensure that people
don't get too close," he says. "We use it where it's practical."
But
these aren't the only improvements made to the 69-year-old
Air Force base. A
275,000-square-foot clinic replaces a hospital facility that was almost
as old as the base itself. The new clinic also opened in 2009.
"The
old hospital, built in 1956, was the oldest hospital in the Air Force
medical service. It had been downgraded to an ambulatory clinic about
five years ago. The area we invested the most in was the dental clinic,
with approximately 29 new dental rooms. We've also added a 1.5 Tesla
MRI scanner and a 64-slice CT scanner that allows us to do diagnostics
that much faster."
Col. Dennis Beatty says "green" features such as light
sensors have decreased energy consumption by 22 percent and the base is
looking for more opportunities to decrease its footprint. "This was
significant in upgrading our facilities and taking care of our patients,
who deserve our best," Beatty says.
Writer:
Missy Kavanaugh
Sources: Col. Dennis Beatty and Robert Hughes, MacDill Air Force Base
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