485 IS airmen get dorm upgrades

By Capt. Mike Noyola
485th IS/DO
Mainz-Kastel Station, Germany

Single airmen of the 485th Intelligence Squadron, located near Wiesbaden, Germany, got some major upgrades to their quality of life recently thanks to the Air Intelligence Agency, 67th Intelligence Wing, and the collocated organization the 485th supports, the European Technical Center.

The dorm situation in Wiesbaden, which did not meet Air Force standards, has been steadily improving since the squadron assigned an acting first sergeant, and then later received an authorized first sergeant.

As the 485th was a tenant unit on an Army installation, they were given what was available to the rest of the soldiers in the dorms. Two people were assigned to a room, the furnishings were old, and in many cases close to unserviceable, and appliances were cast off equipment from DRMO.

With determination and zeal, the unit first sergeant’s successfully fought for and won the rights to a whole floor dedicated to the unit, assigned personnel rooms on a One-Plus-One basis and provided for new curtains and carpets.

Quality of life money provided by the 26th Intelligence Group, purchased microwave ovens for each dorm room. As much of an improvement as these all were, many infrastructure items were not fixable.

Due to the lack of dorm security, an unfortunate accident left the dorm residents without a kitchen and the host base would not repair it. Just at the right time, like in the movies, the heroes rode in to town and saved the day.

On his trip through the European theater, Maj. Gen. John Baker, AIA and Joint Command and Control Warfare Center commander, was given a tour through the dorms. During this tour, Col. Ken Brockway, deputy director of ETC, commented to the general that money was available to fix the kitchen, if AIA could match the funds. Baker agreed, and then upped the ante by throwing in a new day room and new, full size refrigerators for each room.

ETC, not to be outdone, threw into the pot one of their facility engineers, Ken Brosk, who really made the 67th Intelligence Wing Quality of Life money go the distance.

Brosk had a vision that exceeded all expectations. He planned to knock out a few walls and make an integrated kitchen-day room-recreation room. With money available, the unit was able to buy a 52” home theater system for the day room, and a Ping-Pong table for the recreation room.

Additionally, security doors were added to the floor to ensure the equipment was secure. On April 2, to kick off the official opening, Maj. Joe Shannahan, commander, and Eric Fromm, ETC director, held a spaghetti and lasagna feed. The two of them, joined by Col. Gary Selin, group commander, and CMSgt. Donald Hatcher, group command chief master sergeant, served up pipin’ hot Italian food to the squadron members, as they initiated the new facilities.

The teaming that happened with the dorm is just an example of the teaming that happens daily between the 485th IS and ETC.