Ask Away, JBSA!

ASK AWAY, JBSA! is a forum that aims to connect the 502nd Air Base Wing with members of the Joint Base San Antonio community. Numerous organizations work in tandem to answer questions and provide the community with vital information. Once a submission is received, it will be further researched and published as information becomes available.

Join us as we dive into important discussions and get direct answers from leaders and experts around Joint Base San Antonio!

In this episode, we speak with an Tony Sowa about our HVAC systems, and what we can do to combat our South Texas heat! Have a burning question about life at JBSA? Submit a question at https://www.jbsa.mil/Information/Ask-Away-JBSA/.

(The following is a transcript from the ASK AWAY, JBSA! video.)

Question: What is JBSA doing to address it’s HVAC units and keep people cool during summer months?

2nd Lt. Emma McHenry: Hey everyone, welcome to our second edition of ASK AWAY, JBSA! My name is 2nd Lt. Emma McHenry, and I'm with the 502nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs Office. Today, I'm with Tony Sowa, JBSA Infrastructure Chief and HVAC expert, and we're going to be talking about the HVAC systems atJoint Base San Antonio.

Sowa: Hi, I'm Tony, so we're here in the HVAC shop. This is where all the work takes place in Joint Base San Antonio, so ask away!

McHenry: Awesome! Tell us about some of the AC units we have on our base.

Sowa: Joint Base San Antonio has a blend of HVAC systems, old technology, and new technology systems that we work on.

McHenry: Perfect! What are some of the challenges and considerations with our older units while they're working in the summer months?

Sowa: The biggest challenge is many systems across the bases are 20 to 25 years old. So the key is to have readily available parts in our bin stock area so that we can maneuver and react when these systems fail.

McHenry: Have there been any improvements or future plans for implementation to help our older units continue to operate to the best of their abilities?

Sowa: Yes, so we continue in CE across the board to try and prepare and plan for the future. So we're always ordering new units, it just takes a little bit more time to get those units on base. So yes, we're always trying to use PM’S at night to clean the units, just keep these units running while these new units are coming in.

McHenry: So keeping that in mind, is there any way those of us who live and work on base can  supplement those cooling processes?

Sowa: Yes, we can use fans in our offices. We can raise temperatures. A lot of the buildings are old, they're not insulated well, so it's hard to maintain that cooling. So anything we can do with fans and raising our temperature set points is a good idea.

McHenry: So this is one of the shops your team works in, but what is some of the work that you and your team do when you are out in the field?

Sowa: The normal process is that we  get emergency calls, and we run and we go to the job. Many times the guys are having to bring back the units here, maybe take a unit that's ready and go back and put it in, and then work later to build that unit back and just create that cycle and keep it going. That's always been the normal process.

I do want to say a few words about the team, and it's men that are selfless and are giving each day and come into work to help all of us that drive through those gates, whether it's the child care center folks or  the Wounded Warriors at Liberty Barracks. We just were selfless and we care about you and want to help you.

McHenry: And then finally, what is the Unit Control Center, and how does that operate across the three locations?

Sowa: We developed a unit Command Center for HVAC across JBSA so that we could be transparent with JBSA Partners, have one central point that received all the JBSA HVAC calls, dispatch teams, and just stay in the flow of trying to maintain these systems.

McHenry: Thank you, Mr. Sowa, for your time today and for showing us around your shop. To close out this edition of ASK AWAY JBSA!, we're going to turn it over to Brig. Gen. Russell Driggers.

Brig. Gen. Russell “Dirk” Driggers: Howdy, Team JBSA! It's no secret that we've been breaking heat records here in Texas. I think we're on, like, three straight weeks of triple-digit temperatures right now. Of course, we all want to feel comfortable in our workplaces and our homes.

Our civil engineering team, from the planners to the dispatchers to our AC technicians, are working tirelessly to maintain the AC units across the whole of JBSA, and as you can imagine, this is no small task. And I gotta tell you, I'm very proud of the work they're doing there. They're out there on the roofs, in the mechanical closets, and in many other spaces that are totally exposed to this Texas heat to get after the challenge.

Now, as mentioned earlier by our CE team, we do encourage you, please use fans or other methods to supplement your cooling, and please reach out to CE if your AC is experiencing problems. Here below on the screen are the numbers that you can call. I ask for your patience, though, as the technicians do their magic. Sometimes, the fact is the magic might take some time.

Now, it is really important that we get this right, and so we have activated the 50 CEGs Unit Control Center. The UCC is a command and control element that's focused on managing HVAC issues during this record hot summer. So they'll take in your work orders, and they'll manage them to get after them as efficiently as they can.

Now, I'm really proud of the work our team has been doing so far, but we've got a few more weeks of this heat, and it will continue to stay engaged to serve our teammates and families across JBSA. But like everything at JBSA, this is a team sport, and we appreciate your help, we appreciate your understanding, and we appreciate your patience as we work to take care of the base.

And as always, Joint Base San Antonio, check the link to “ASK AWAY, JBSA!”