RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Randolph's newest building - the Air Force Personnel Center Civilian Personnel Office - will be dedicated Tuesday at 9 a.m. in memory of the field operating agency's former executive director.
The building is named Blanchard Hall in honor of former AFPC Executive Director Roger Blanchard, who died nearly three years ago.
"Roger Blanchard dedicated his life to the Air Force and force support community as a career civil servant," said Maj. Gen. K.C. McClain, Air Force Personnel Center commander. "His vision and determination continue to inspire and serve as a model for all of us as we carry out many of the policies and programs he helped create."
The dedication and ribbon-cutting will feature Gen. Roger Brady, U.S. Air Forces in Europe commander and former U.S. Air Force Manpower and Personnel deputy chief of staff, and other Air Force dignitaries as well as members of Mr. Blanchard's family.
Mr. Blanchard served nearly 34 years in the Air Force force support community. He began his career as an intern at the former Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, in 1973. He first came to Randolph in 1983 as a command personnel management specialist and returned 12 years later, in 1995, as AFPC's first executive director. He left that position in 1997 to return to the Pentagon where he shaped many of the personnel programs and policies still in place today.
The building is a state-of-the-art structure that meets the criteria for a U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certificate.
"It's been one of the most successful projects I've seen in my 32 years in the Air Force and private sector," said Ralph Williams, AFPC civil engineer. "It's designed to be energy- and environmentally friendly as well as building occupant-friendly."
He said the facility, which will also be known as Bldg. 667, qualifies for an LEED silver certificate, but it may earn gold certification.
"That would really be a feather in our cap," Mr. Williams said.
Some of the building's green features are high-efficiency heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems; high-efficiency construction materials and windows, with an exterior designed to maximize day lighting into interior work areas and roof overhangs to shade windows and cut down on solar heat; a roof that reduces solar absorption; and xeriscape landscaping.
"Its most tangible benefits are that it's friendly to the environment and it will cost less to run the facility," Mr. Williams said. "The facility and the furniture also use a lot of recycled materials."
It was built on the former site of Bldg. 662, which housed Family Care Services and the Randolph Thrift Shop, and is directly south of Headquarters Air Force Recruiting Service.
The $10.9 million project is part of the fiscal 2008 Base Closure and Realignment Commission Military Construction budget. Approximately 150 employees now occupy the 36,000-square-foot facility.
Mr. Williams said some of the personnel who work at the facility will come from civilian personnel offices at bases affected by BRAC law.
"The Air Force is consolidating military and civilian personnel programs and processes," he said. "This consolidation reduces Air Force manpower by slimming down the size of civilian personnel offices at other bases."
Mr. Williams said Blanchard Hall represents the first step in a 10- to 12-year process to rejuvenate the AFPC facilities on the west side of the base. The agency's building master plan includes restoring the historical character of A-Wing and C-Wing, which formerly served as aviation cadet barracks, and demolishing and rebuilding B-Wing.
"Execution of the master plan is the next step in the process," he said. "There will be an emphasis on LEED compliance and meeting the Air Force's newest building standards. Blanchard Hall is a good model."