Town hall meeting addresses quality-of-life issues

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  Straight-forward answers to tough questions were on the agenda at a town hall meeting here Sept. 22, as commanders and civilian managers from RAFs Mildenhall and Lakenheath responded to a recent quality-of-life survey.

Col. Christopher Kulas, 100th Air Refueling Wing commander, hosted the meeting and provided subject matter experts from a wide array of base services to answer questions for Team Mildenhall members.

The Air Force Quality-of-Life Survey is intended to bring concerns to light and prompt leadership to take a second look at those issues.

The first concern addressed was in reference to comments that the passport application process needed improvement.

"Superior service for our customers is one of my main goals," said Col. David Doe, 100th Mission Support Group commander, who facilitated the meeting and introduced Maj. Adrian Hageman, 100th Force Support Squadron commander, to respond.

"We've taken your feedback and are trying to implement and improve customer service," said Hageman.

To sign a passport application, the passport agent must be a U.S. citizen, which rules out using Ministry of Defence or Local National Direct Hires as passport agents.

"At one point in time we only had one employee working passports," said Hageman. "We trained five more [employees] and now have multiple passport agents in the squadron."

The survey indicated parking was a concern to some members. To address that concern, Doe introduced Lt. Col. Scott Griffin, 100th Civil Engineer Squadron commander.

"We've been developing a walking-campus concept here, which means pushing parking further away from buildings and increasing force protection," said Griffin. "Now, rather than parking inside Washington Square, people park adjacent to the library."

Washington Square was merely one example used. A five-minute walking radius was the standard used to determine base parking plans. More parking spaces will be made available in coming months.

Doe responded to junior Airmen living in base dormitories voiced their desire to have wireless internet available in their living accommodations.

"We have an initiative in place right now to utilize end-of-year funds to put wireless internet in the dorm dayrooms," said Doe. "That's about 22 different dayrooms that will get wireless internet and hopefully bring Airmen together."

Availability of merchandise at Army Air Force Exchange Service facilities on RAFs Mildenhall and Lakenheath was a recurring concern of Team Mildenhall. Larry Salgado, AAFES U.K. general manager, spoke on the issue.

"AAFES is an important part of your quality of life and nowhere is that more evident than at an overseas assignment," said Salgado. "It's a corporate standard [in retail] to be 92 percent stocked. Your AAFES on RAF Mildenhall and Lakenheath are, on average, between 93 and 94 percent stocked."

Naturally, there are logistical challenges to getting merchandise overseas, said Salgado, who cited a four-to-six week delivery time and weather hurdles here in England, which sometimes lengthens delivery times.

"If anyone is looking for a particular item, they should see the store manager," said Salgado. "We now have the ability to see what is in stock at AAFES worldwide and request the transfer of individual items."

The availability of medical appointments was an issue to some. Col. Joseph Legan, 48th Medical Group commander, spoke on the concern.

"I agree that last March it was difficult to get an appointment, but we're working hard to make that process better," said Legan. "We added providers and this summer we began working on our phone tree to improve that process."

A phone tree is an automated operator service that directs members to the appropriate agency. In addition to making appointment by telephone, members can always utilize Tricare Online at www.tricareonline.com.

Once a member registers, appointments can be booked 24/7 online.

A final concern to members was the limited services at the housing office on RAF Mildenhall, and members here didn't have the same services available as their RAF Lakenheath counterparts.

According to Lani Waikiki, 48th Civil Engineer Squadron housing manager, that is no longer the case.

"Two years ago there was only one housing representative at [RAF] Mildenhall," said Waikiki. "We opened a new office right next to the unaccompanied housing office. Now, we have four representatives and can take care of all of your needs here, just like the office at Lakenheath."

Expanded fitness options, healthier food choices and increased customer service at base facilities were other topics the survey indicated needed further attention. All were addressed at the meeting.

Quality of life is very important to 100th ARW and 48th MDG leadership, and experts continuously look to improve areas.