P4 initiatives create community progression
BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- Buckley Air Force Base, Colo., continues to work with public and private organizations in order to maintain base proficiency and strengthen relations with the local community.
Through the “Public-Public, Public-Private” program, Buckley AFB enters public and private partnerships that are designed to maximize limited resources, including funds; land assets; facilities; personnel; etc. for the mutual benefit of participating partners.
These partnerships don’t only have to be between government agencies, as the program also allows for private organizations to participate.
P4 allows Buckley AFB and the local community to reach goals of a common interest while building a positive relationship and protecting the installation’s missions.
Buckley AFB brings approximately $1 billion in revenue to the area annually, so it is a major contributor to the economic prosperity of local communities.
“As we consider each new P4 initiative, we look for opportunities that will be mutually beneficial to both the installation, our tenant organizations and the local community,” said Greg Long, 460th Civil Engineering Squadron deputy commander.
The City of Aurora and Arapahoe County officials are actively engaged in protecting the installation from possible future base realignment and closure considerations, and they frequently visit Washington DC to talk to Congressmen and Air Force officials on what they can do to help the base.
The latest initiative on base is the 6th Avenue Gate reconstruction that will eliminate the security deficiencies at the gate while increasing the number of vehicles the gate can handle. Reconstruction of the 6th Avenue Gate also addresses safety concerns for the local community by relieving traffic congestion on the road.
A large vehicle inspection point is to be installed near the 6th Avenue Gate, eliminating the inspections occurring at the Mississippi Gate which can cause traffic queuing on the public streets. The City of Aurora generously committed up to $800,000 to build traffic lanes into the new site off of 6th Avenue.
Another initiative on Buckley is “power resiliency”, an upcoming project designed to increase Buckley’s capability to provide electrical power to parts of the base. The program eliminates possible single points of failure such as one off-base electrical sub-station.
“This particular project is a public-public initiative primarily between the major tenants on base, but we’re still exploring ways it may be beneficial to the local community; perhaps by installing new transmission lines to increase the overall electrical capacity to the area,” said Long.
The installation commander is also interested in providing bachelor degree level courses on the base which will give military members and their families an opportunity to advance their education while giving contract opportunities to local universities and agencies.
“By combining our resources and efforts with our local partners, we can not only protect the mission on the installation but we can also protect the economic health and well-being of the local community,” said Long.