673d MDG Airmen move to WTU

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Javier Alvarez
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  Airmen of the 673d Medical Group living in unaccompanied housing have found a new home at the Warrior Transition Unit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.\

Approximately 58 MDG Airmen moved to the WTU, said Master Sgt. Tammy Miller, 673d Civil Engineer Squadron unaccompanied housing superintendent. The most recent group of Airmen moved in at the end of July.

The bottom half of the WTU is currently serving as an annex to the Fisher House, said Senior Master Sgt. Phillip Kersey, 673d Medical Group first sergeant. As expansions to the Fisher House are completed, and the space becomes available, the rooms will house 22 additional MDG Airmen.

“We have about as many people as the WTU will hold,” he said. “About 80 residents will call the WTU home.”

Prior to utilizing the WTU, the dormitories were at capacity, Miller said. With every influx of Airmen, dorm leaders were forced to move dorm residents out sooner than would normally be allowed.

By occupying the available space at the WTU, the Air Force will save more than $900,000 by not having to pay full BAH to Airmen, she said.

The WTU is a relatively new facility and is ADA-compliant – should the amenities be required, Miller said.

It is more efficient and effective for the residents who work in the hospital to be housed in the WTU because of its close proximity, Kersey said.

“Living off base [tends to] lead to more disciplinary problems - whether it be financial issues or having an altercation with a neighbor,” he said. “This was a way for us to move our people from one dormitory to another, and free up space. We can now house our Airmen on base without being forced to send them downtown.”

Dorm occupancy rates have dipped to levels below 95 percent since the move.

“There is now enough room for the inbound Airmen – allowing for the natural in-and-out flow of personnel as they [make a permanent change of station],” Kersey said.

“I think we have provided the highest quality for our Arctic medics,” he said. “They’re deserving and excited to be living there – and I’m excited to have taken part in making this happen.”

The Army was scheduled to close 10 of its remaining 25 WTUs by Summer 2016.