14th CONS helps replace BX roof, improves QoL

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Davis Donaldson
  • 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
The 14th Contracting Squadron aided in the recent replacement of the Base Exchange’s roof to improve the quality of life for Airmen and their families at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi.

In total, the project cost $617,589 and took nearly 4 months to complete.

Master Sgt. William Barker, 14th CONS contracting officer, said the replacement was a necessity for the base and he was glad to help execute the project to completion.

“The BX is one of the focal points for the base and for the local area,” Barker said. “It’s important to have a safe facility. The replacement of the roof eliminated the leaks, which in turn stopped mold from forming.”

For the contract, the 14th CS went through the HUBZone program. HUB stands for a Historically Underutilized Business. Through the program, a contract was awarded to CYE Enterprises out of Jacksonville, Florida.

When a contract is awarded to a HUB, Barker said it is a noteworthy accomplishment for their squadron.

“The squadron has a certain amount goals to complete for the year,” he said. “One of the goals is to contract a certain amount of HUBZone and small businesses. So I guess you could say it’s like a feather in your hat when you can award those contracts.”

Tech. Sgt. Daniel Martinez, 14th CONS contracting officer, said one of the challenges the squadron faced with the contracting for the roof was being a small unit and not having much familiarity.

“We have 100% of our people but only 39% of them have the experience needed to accomplish most tasked items,” Martinez said. “I retrained from civil engineering so I have to rely on the other guys till I catch up.”

To overcome the challenges the 14th CONS faced, Martinez said the primary solutions were hard work, teamwork and training.

“You would think it’s easier here since we are a smaller base, but it’s just less people to do around the same amount of work,” he said. “We work hard and have lots of teamwork throughout the unit. We do our best to learn on the fly and take our training seriously.”