JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-CAMP BULLIS, Texas –
After several years of being housed in a trailer that was outdated and hard to maintain, the Vehicle Management Flight at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis now has a new modern construction trailer with upgraded amenities, which will better fit the needs of the vehicle technicians who work on the installation.
The new trailer, located at Camp Bullis Road between the JBSA-Camp Bullis Range Control building and the 343rd Training Squadron facility, replaces a 17-year-old construction trailer. It sits in the same location as the old trailer, which was removed in early December.
The Vehicle Management Flight, which is part of the 502nd Logistics Readiness Squadron, maintains vehicles used for day-to-day operations and training at JBSA bases.
Matt Arzadon, 502nd LRS vehicle maintenance shop supervisor at JBSA-Camp Bullis, said the new trailer is a morale booster for the five members of the Vehicle Management Flight at JBSA-Camp Bullis who had to work in less-than-ideal conditions in the old trailer.
“The old trailer was falling apart,” Arzadon said. “The thing was roughly 20 years old, if not more. It was leaking, the electrical was going out, it was shorting out the lights, the windows were not up to par. This new one is more modern as far as the roof doesn’t leak; it’s more energy efficient.
“It’s newer, it’s thicker, it’s made of steel, so it’s better than the old aluminum trailer,” Arzadon added. “In the event of severe weather, it will be more durable.”
Arzadon said members of the Vehicle Management Flight were able to set up the trailer to meet the flight’s needs. Included in the trailer are a supervisor’s office, a room for the four service members who work in the flight and a break room.
In addition, the trailer includes a more reliable A/C and heating unit, which would regularly break down in the old trailer, better insulation, an upgraded communications system and modular office furniture which was retrofitted by members of the Vehicle Management Flight to fit their work stations.
The members of the flight, who are vehicle technicians, have taken pride and ownership in their new workplace, Arzadon said.
“It’s a big morale booster for them,” Arzadon said. “They worked hard. They took the other trailer apart and moved it so that we could have the new trailer here. They did everything; they took the deck apart, they took all the furniture out and scrounged for furniture for the new trailer. I’m proud of them for working for me. They definitely went above and beyond their job to make their new home.”
Darren Silsbee, 502nd LRS deputy director, said the new trailer was made possible through the efforts of Col. Steven Strain, 502nd Installation Support Group commander, who inspected the old trailer last year after he took over as commander.
“He (Strain) wanted to improve quality of life for the people who worked there,” Silsbee said. “It was his top priority. He didn’t want workers to work in those conditions.”
Silsbee said the new trailer will be a temporary space for the Vehicle Management Flight, as a new permanent maintenance building for the flight will be constructed next to the trailer. Plans call for construction of the new building to start in 2023.
The $1.4 million maintenance building will include a service area for vehicle technicians to work on four vehicles at one time, two 10-feet-wide, 16-feet-tall garage doors, drive-thru access, a tire shop to change oversized tires, an office and breakroom, as well as a parts storage area.
As of now, there is no building to conduct maintenance for the Vehicle Management Flight at JBSA-Camp Bullis. Vehicle technicians conduct their maintenance underneath a tent next to the trailer. The tent doesn’t have enough room for oversized vehicles, which have to be maintained outside.
Silsbee said the permanent maintenance facility will give vehicle technicians the capability to do routine maintenance on vehicles they don’t have the capability of doing right now, such as oil changes. Since there is no maintenance building, vehicle technicians can’t conduct oil changes above ground at JBSA-Camp Bullis because of environmental restrictions.
Once the permanent maintenance building is completed, the trailer Vehicle Management Flight occupies could be used for future storage, Silsbee said.