Self-help store offers solution to be safe in bad weather

  • Published
  • By Karen Abeyasekere
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  Winter is here and snow is just around the corner. Soon, Airmen will be outside helping clear pathways around their buildings, making them safe to walk on.

But where are the tools to clear the snow, and how do people go about getting what they need?

The 100th Civil Engineer Squadron Self-Help Store opens its doors to facility managers Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 to 4 p.m., so they can pick up snow shovels, bags of rock salt and salt spreaders. Self-help also provides paint, paintbrushes and carpet tiles for offices and other "real property."

Real property is considered anything that is a permanent fixture (cannot be physically moved) on base that is constructed using Air Force appropriated funds.

"We used to stock items for base housing, such as light bulbs and metal and wood shelving, but that's all been consolidated to RAF Lakenheath's self-help store, as they have the much larger housing element," said Alison Wells, 100th CES material acquisitions manager, from Mildenhall.

"We stock items used for small do-it-yourself jobs, such as paint, rollers, (adhesive) and screws," she said.

The self-help store here also has power tools and items such as rakes, all available on short-term loan, which range from same-day return (for items such as rock salt barrows) to seven-day usage.

The items are only available for use on base in work centers, and must not be taken off base for housing projects. However, items from the RAF Lakenheath and other base self-help stores can be used in official base housing. All items are free and funded by 100th CES.

Mark Lingard, 100th CES self-help projects manager, works in the self-help store and also carries out projects which vary from painting walls to building offices from the ground up.

"We've put ceilings in, laid carpet tiles and installed new kitchens - anything to do with construction, we can do," said Lingard.


The self-help store contributes to the mission by improving quality of life, and decorating or making things better for the working environment.

Anyone requiring items from the self-help store to improve their office or work center, should contact their facility manager. If someone needs more than 2.5 liters of pint for a project, that person must submit an Air Force form 332, Workorder Request. The request is then sent to 100th CES and goes before the workorder review board for a decision as to whether it is for real property or not. If and when approved, Lingard will visit the site to see what the job entails, and how much paint is required, and will then provide paint to the facility manager.

For more information, call Lingard at 238-6277.