JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- The 673d Air Base Wing and Anchorage School District reached an agreement today to provide active-duty Airmen as supplemental school bus drivers for the installation starting Sept 1.
The Airmen are part of the 673d Logistics Readiness Group and all have valid commercial driver’s licenses. ASD will provide the necessary training, guidance, and instruction to the drivers alongside the proper driving routes to ensure they are fully ready to support next week.
“This partnership shows our shared interests in meeting the needs of our families and the students,” said Col. Dave Wilson, 673d Air Base Wing commander. “This is about more than readiness – this signifies our commitment to being good neighbors with the city of Anchorage and helping one another through this challenging time.”
The agreement, reached Aug 26, 2022, currently has four drivers in initial training and certifications. Once those four are trained and ready to support, JBER has the potential to provide four more drivers, totaling eight. Drivers will support the routes servicing Orion and Aurora Elementary Schools only and will not be operating off-base. The third school on JBER – Ursa Minor – will not be serviced by a bus route.
“Partnering with the school district to help solve this challenge is about delivering a quality school experience to our JBER families and most importantly the students,” Wilson said. “I’m proud of our team and how they came together to deliver additional drivers. This truly shows the flexibility of our servicemembers to meet the needs of our community and installation.”
The buses will be provided by ASD and service members selected to operate these buses will be required to meet all of the requirements outlined by the ASD, the state of Alaska, and the Federal Department of Transportation.
The drivers will operate their routes for the duration of the agreement or until the appropriate number of civilian drivers have been hired and certified. The agreement will last for 90 days.