ALS rest rooms newly renovated

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Joshua Moshier
  • Black Hills Bandit staff
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. --  The rest room renovations at the Samuel O. Turner Airman Leadership School were completed Jan. 10, and ALS class 06-3 became the first in-resident class at the facility since the project began Aug. 10, 2005.

The approximately $215,000 project took four months to complete.

“These renovations bring the rest rooms at our facility up to the standard of the rest of the building,” said Master Sgt. Chad Eiring, ALS flight chief.

The women’s rest room was given a ‘face-lift’ with new tile and fixtures installed. The men’s rest room was completely rebuilt, expanding the usable showers from four to eight and installing new urinals, commodes and sinks. Finally, a new ventilation system was installed in all of the facility’s rest rooms - the key to the project according to Sergeant Eiring.

“There wasn’t enough airflow in the rest rooms, which caused mold to build up on the walls and ceiling,” Sergeant Eiring said. “It got to the point people didn’t even want to use them.”

In addition to health and aesthetic considerations, the new rest rooms provide ALS students with a better quality of life.

“The bathrooms are really nice, and they’re not overcrowded,” said Senior Airman Robert Ollquist, 28th Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels journeyman and current ALS student. “The private showers are a good thing, too.”

Now that the project is complete, the students can attend the class in-residence. The ability to live at the facility for the duration of the class presents positives.

“It’s nice to have a quiet place to study for class,” said Senior Airman Michael Bridgeford, 28th Security Forces Squadron journeyman and ALS student. “I’ve got two kids at home. When I go home, they’re in the mentality of ‘it’s play time,’ and I wouldn’t get any studying done.”

Future plans for the building include an auditorium renovation and a completely wireless campus where all students would receive laptops with Internet accessibility in any part of the building, Sergeant Eiring said.

The ALS staff will host an open house March 2 from 9 a.m. to noon for anyone who’d like to view the school.

“Without question, this is the best (Professional Military Education) facility in the Air Force,” Sergeant Eiring said. “Every time a high-level visitor views our facility, he says it’s the best PME he’s ever seen, and these renovations just make the building better.”