Air Mobility Command Takes Possession of New
Aircrew Life (ALS) Support Facilities at Charleston AFB
By: SMSgt Mike Freebury
Aircrew Life Support Superintendent, Charleston
AFB, SC
The Charleston AFB, SC Aircrew Life Support (ALS) Flight proudly took official possession of their $4.1
million ALS facility at a ribbon cutting ceremony on 19 Jan 2001. On hand to officiate the ceremony was
Brigadier General (sel) Rusty Findley, 437 AW Commander. AMC Aircrew Protection Function
Manager, CMSgt Richard Robichaud also attended the ceremony and spoke to those in attendance. Our
newest troop, AB Kimberly Blaisdell and I got to help the commander cut the ribbon to our new facility,
marking a new beginning in AMC ALS operations.
AB Blaisdell, Cmdr Hedges, Col Findley, Lt Col Roop and SMSgt Freebury cut the ceremonial ribbon to the new CAFB ALS facility.
The ALS facility, the second of its kind in AMC built exclusively for ALS consolidated operations (the
other opened at McChord last Winter), is a monumental leap forward for our operations here at
Charleston. Just six short years ago, the Charleston ALS operation was working out of three separate
buildings, all of which were condemned (including a condemned chow hall). In 1996, ALS moved to a
better facility – the old Combat Control building. Although this building was built in 1995, it did not
meet the needs of an ALS operation. Only through a clear vision and a lot of hard work can we now
look at a completed facility and say - “this new building belongs to us!”
CAFB’s New C-17 ALS Facility
Several years ago, when the “S Command and the “M Command” disappeared, the “new” AMC staff,
led by CMSgt (ret) Tim Morrow sought to improve ALS facilities throughout the command. Chief
Morrow put MSgt (ret) Ken Rennie on the project and between Ken and the rest of the staff; they opened
some doors and got the requirements on the books. As a result, a majority of our ALS operations in
AMC are operating out of new facilities, either in Squadron Ops buildings (KC-10, KC-135, and C-130)
or in new consolidated facilities like our new one here Charleston and the facility at McChord. We still
have a ways to go to get some of our shops in new facilities, but we sure are better off today thanks to
the vision of Tim Morrow and the hard work of guys like Ken Rennie.
I was extremely lucky to be involved with the planning process with Ken Rennie on both the McChord
and Charleston facilities while on staff at HQ AMC. Guys like CMSgt (ret) Rob Bentley, Major Vinny
DeBono, CMSgt Rich Robichaud and MSgt Bret Curran did more than their fair share of inputs too,
especially with the Squadron Ops buildings. When I got to Charleston in September of 1999 I had the
frustrating and challenging job of being the end user POC for our new building. When it was all said
and done, it was amazing watching a vision, turn into a concept, then into a sketch, on to a building
plan, and finally to a building with walls and happy ALS personnel.
Our facility is a $4.1 million military construction (MILCON) project, giving us a 28,000 square foot
facility, with about 21,500 square feet of useable floor space. We also received a $259,000 mechanized
materiel handling and storage aid system (MMHS/SAS) funded by AF Material Command (a big thank
you to MSgt Bret Curren, who oversaw this process while he was on staff at HQ AMC). The
MMHS/SAS project includes two huge Space Saver systems for our helmets, ACDE bags and flight line
equipment. We also received a mezzanine for ACDE storage, pallet rack for our mobility equipment, a
host of carts, stock pickers and even an electric cherry picker. We use our building to currently support
six C-17A flying squadrons, an aero medical evacuation squadron, special operations low level (SOLL
II) operations, and the only active duty Combat Camera squadron in the Air Force. We expect to pick
up two more flying squadrons as we continue to receive more C-17As, making us even larger than we
are today. Thanks to our new facility, we can handle the growth and provide the service our aircrew
force deserves.
I know McChord is very proud of their new home as we are with ours. Finally, I want to recognize our
whole ALS flight, led my Captain Paul Lambertson (our flight commander), MSgt von Dorpp (NCOIC)
and MSgt Phil Scott (Asst NCOIC) who made the move into our new building happen. They organized
the move over a three-day weekend and had the new shop up and running on Tuesday morning. The
flight then readied the building for the ribbon cutting ceremony that Friday, followed by a MOBEX
starting the following Monday! I believe the “e” in team stands for “exceptional” and our flight made it
happen. Great job!
Tim Morrow and Ken Rennie always said, “Everything we do should benefit the youngest airman in
our shop”. Our new facility is a testament to their vision and hard work. AB Kimberly Blaisdell will
never know what is like to work out of a condemned building thanks to people like Tim Morrow and
Ken Rennie who did know what is was like “back in the day”, said “let’s fix this” and then moved
forward and did it!