Airmen, civilians deserve kudos for power outage actions

  • Published
  • By Capt. Javier Abarca
  • 460th Civil Engineer Squadron
The 460th Civil Engineer Squadron led a joint effort Aug. 8 in the enormous task of upgrading the base power grid system. Not only was the power capacity increased, the 16-hour outage tested and proved the capabilities of the base in a "real world" scenario to keep the essential and critical missions operating.

With the support of the 460th Space Communications Squadron, 460th Logistics Readiness Squadron, 140th Wing Colorado Air National Guard and many other teams this assignment led to a successful completion time of 10 hours.

Upgrading the system was effortless compared to the daunting task of coordinating and preparing the base for the power outage. The groundwork for this project involved expertise from the 460 CES Electrical; Power Production and Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Flights as well as the 460 SCS. These teams expertly tested and set up generators, rewired electrical panels, ensured alarm system, communication systems functions, water pumping systems and other utilities vital to the base were all operational.

During the power outage personnel not directly involved with the upgrade utilized this time to coordinate training and perform maintenance on power grid systems that would otherwise require additional outages. This successful coordination occurred at the same time that the Mississippi Gate was closed to repair the asphalt road for 28 hours.
The rapid growth of Buckley Air Force Base caused the demand on the power grid to quickly reach its capacity. When considering the growth of the missions the increased capacity is substantial and vital to Buckley's development.

Kudos to the Airman and civilians involved for all the hard work and many hours put forth for a victorious outcome.