Town Hall meeting maps road to Edwards' future Published Nov. 18, 2010 By Diane Betzler Staff Writer EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The 95th Air Base Wing commander held a town hall meeting Nov. 9 to discuss issues with base residents and receive feedback in mapping out the road ahead for the Edwards community. The meeting, one of many scheduled for the installation, was held at the Edwards Conference Center where privatized housing, on-base schools and medical issues were discussed. "Our main goal tonight is to get information out so that everyone here leaves understanding where we're going as an Edward's community," said Lt. Col. Matthew Wallace, 95th Mission Support Group deputy commander, who served as emcee. Colonel Wallace introduced the evening's speakers and their topics of discussion, and turned the meeting over to Brig. Gen. Robert C. Nolan II, Air Force Flight Test Center commander. General Nolan told attendees he's honored to be the flight test commander and gave a brief history about the base. He cited great flying weather, the relatively remote location and "God's best-made landing surfaces in the west" (referring to the natural lake beds), as reasons why the AFFTC is here. "We're still here because we've made the decision that testing airplanes and systems is important to the United States of America." The general said that he and his family enjoy the same benefits and share the same concerns as Edward's residents, and that his "putting great people in charge of handling base issues" was of paramount importance to seeing Edwards grow as a community. Those leaders are Col. Gregory E. Schwab, the 95th Air Base Wing and installation commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Bill Thomaston, the 95th ABW Command Chief. According to Col Schwab, his goal is to create and maintain a "community of excellence" at Edwards. That includes continually getting the word out, through all channels, about all that Edwards AFB has to offer. Chief Thomaston agreed and said it's important that Edwards has the very best to offer its residents, and they recognize that base services readily compete with the services offered in neighboring communities. "This evening's event is our second town hall meeting, and we will have many more to ensure the commander and I receive your feedback, and are able to get the word out to you, our customer," Chief Thomaston said. 95th Medical Group commander, Col. Janet Taylor, and her executive team were the first to address the audience and gave an overview on how to access medical care during duty hours, after hours and on weekends. She and her team talked about how to avoid getting a TRICARE claim bill after an urgent care visit. The colonel said all members must call for authorization to receive urgent care services and said the number to call for that is (866) 535-4137. The colonel recommended people program that number into their cell phones. Colonel Taylor and her team defined the difference between emergency and urgent care needs. "An emergency is when you have a threat to life, limb or eyesight, and that's when you would dial 911." Those needing emergency care will be picked up and transported to the nearest emergency room. Authorization is not needed for emergency care. The primary care clinics on base are open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and patients are seen by appointment. The number to call for an appointment is (661) 277-7118. The primary clinics are closed the first Monday of each month for base-wide training. The colonel said the Flight Surgeon's office is also open Monday through Friday, with the exception of the first Monday of each month. The flight surgeon's office hours are 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The flight surgeons' facility offers walk-in sick call visits for flyers only, every day from 7 to 8 a.m. and from noon to 1 p.m. All other visits to the flight surgeons office are done by appointment. When calling the 277-7118 number, ask for option 5. "We want to deliver simply the best care to all Edwards Air Force Base beneficiaries and we would like your feedback on any and all concerns, complaints and recommendations," Colonel Taylor said. Beneficiaries can contact Lt. Col. Natalie Giscombe at (661) 275-2698 to discuss issues or can e-mail complaints or suggestions to: natalie.giscombe@edwards.af.mil. The medical team also offers a Nurse Line service that allows callers to talk to a registered nurse 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The nurses can provide general health information, advice on home care or direct the caller to the proper level of care based on the specific circumstances. With this service, if a nurse directs the caller to an outside level of care, the nurse will contact the caller's provider the next duty day to arrange needed authorizations. Colonel Taylor reminded everyone to call the Nurse Line for authorization anytime they feel the need for urgent care. To reach the Nurse Line, call: (866) 535-4137. The medical team also advised people that flu shots are available for all beneficiaries and urged everyone to get a flu shot. Colonel Giscombe said the H1N1 and flu vaccine are combined. She said a nasal flu mist will be provided to ages 2 through 49 and said the latest anyone should receive a flu shot is the December through January time frame. Colonel Taylor advised everyone about a Community Outreach forum planned for Dec. 2 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., in the conference room at the main clinic. She said the forum is an opportunity to meet with each squadron commander and get updated about issues, if any, concerning health care. "It's also an opportunity for you, our beneficiaries, to give us feedback and ask questions. It's an open forum." The colonel said it's a great time to share any rumors people may have heard and discuss them, "If we don't have the answer to your questions, we will find that answer and get back to you," she said. James Judkins, base civil engineer, talked about housing privatization. He said it's an arrangement between private industry and the Air Force -- a public-private agreement. Explaining the program, Mr. Judkins said the Air Force selects a project owner and that owner leases Air Force land for 50 years. "The project owner manages, maintains and upgrades the housing for us." Mr. Judkins said the Air Force switched to housing privatization because there just wasn't enough government money for the Air Force to continue building new houses and upgrade older homes, to bring them up to Department of Defense standards. Mr. Judkins said the Air Force is going to privatize base housing throughout the continental United States. Families who move into privatized housing will be required to sign a lease, pay rent, and eventually will be responsible for paying their utility bills. "Members will receive basic allowance for housing," Mr. Judkins said, "that will initially cover all their housing costs." Later, members will collect BAH at 110 percent of the average actual rent, and then become responsible for paying for their electric and gas usage. "If the renter conserves on utility use, he can pocket any money paid above and beyond the rent and utility payment each month," he said. When asked about a rumor that the houses can be filled with non-military people, Mr. Judkins said if the occupancy rate were to drop below 95 percent for a certain amount of time, the project owner would be allowed to start filling the houses in a pre-determined sequence. "Active duty Air Force members have first priority, but if they can't fill the houses with active duty military, then they are allowed to fill with reserve military. If that doesn't fill the houses, they will allow retired military, if they still need more renters they will look at retired civil service, after that they will consider contract employees and down the line," he said. Mr. Judkins said that under privatization the Air Force expects to see many more great houses. He said leadership expects to see several improvements at Edwards. "We're looking at a new playground at Mesquite Meadows, a new community center, more trees and shrubs. The project owner will also be responsible for maintaining front lawns." Mr. Judkins said the Air Force hopes to sign the deal by September 2011. Jeanette White, capital asset manager for Civil Engineering said concern about privatized housing is typical because it's unknown. "We're going to try to make everyone as comfortable as we can before it happens," she said, adding that Edwards is one of the last bases to undergo privatization. Colonel Buddy Berry, 95th Mission Support Group commander, talked about the schools on base and what the 95th ABW is doing to improve the educational experience of the children attending those schools. California is struggling financially and that affects schools, "That's the environment we are now operating in," he said. "Given that, our focus is to partner with the schools on base and take advantage of every resource they bring to the table, and in addition to that, when we can, we want to bring our resources to the table to maximize the educational experience for our kids. That's the goal," he said. The wing has appointed Ms. Sabrina Murray as the school liaison officer. Colonel Berry said she will address educational issues for students, and her primary job is to communicate between leadership, the community and the schools. "If you need a place to go for educational issues, Sabrina Murray is the person to contact." Ms. Murray can be reached at (661) 527-3846. The colonel said the wing is currently working on several issues, and said the first is improving the facilities. He said the Office of the Secretary of Defense has come up with $80 million that they are willing to provide to public schools on military installations, and said the base has requested over $5 million of that money to improve the schools located at Edwards. The Air Base Wing hopes to find out by next spring if the base schools will be granted that money. Two other major issues he received from parents when he first arrived at Edwards were that communication between the school and parents is inadequate and there aren't enough courses being offered. "We have three initiatives going to address those issues," Colonel Berry said. He said he already sees an improvement in communicating education concerns and attributed that to the fact that Ms. Murray attends school board meetings, Parent Teacher Association meetings and Parent Teacher Organization meetings to keep the line of communication going. In addition, he expressed his appreciation to school leadership for actively partnering with Edwards in this endeavor. Colonel Berry talked about several programs being offered at base schools and said one he's particularly excited about a developing Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) program to supplement our existing school curriculum by providing multiple courses including an AP curriculum. DODEA is currently assessing the timeline for fielding this program. We anticipate a decision in Spring 2011. Additionally, he emphasized an ongoing program between Desert High School and Cerro Coso Community College to provide college level courses to our high school students. Anyone interested in this program should contact Ms Murray for additional information. The meeting ended on a positive note with several residents expressing their appreciation for the information that was presented and the plan for future town hall meetings on different topics. Colonel Schwab reiterated that the focus is on getting the word out and receiving input from base residents. He also said there will be many more meetings to come.