Aviano 2000 in full throttle: if things don't look the same, don't be surprise

Airman, April, 2004 by Chuck Roberts

When Tech. Sgt. Travis Shultz arrived at Aviano Air Base, Italy, in 1997, he walked into a workplace with portable heaters and a leaky ceiling adorned with empty plastic bottles to catch drips of water. After work, he had to travel off base through wicked traffic to reach the base exchange that he'd circle at least 15 times in search of an elusive parking spot. The commissary was so small that only a limited number of customers were allowed in at a time.

Then the Aviano 2000 expansion program entered his life, and things were never the same again.

"We are extremely lucky to be assigned here," Sergeant Schultz said last summer before heading to an assignment at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C. He had moved to Aviano just as the monumental upgrade was getting underway. "Every month it seems something new is coming online. This is great, but it's getting better all the time."

He said even those now arriving at Aviano must still stare in wonder at the landscape of building cranes and say to themselves, "Wow, I'm really in the middle of something big."

They are. Aviano 2000 boasts 286 projects with a $.565 million price tag stretching more than a decade of labor [See "Aviano's Renaissance," November 2000]. With a start date of 1995, Aviano 2000 is about 75 percent complete and should begin winding down in 2007, said Lt. Col. Peter Schwarz, chief of operation support for the project. The name Aviano 2000 may imply to some the project is woefully behind schedule, but the name was intended to capture the spirit of a new millennium.

Set against a stunning backdrop of snowcapped mountains, brilliant blue skies and lush, green countryside, the style and architecture of the new buildings are in harmony with the local Italian culture. Terra cotta roof tiles and stone pathways make Aviano resemble a quaint Italian town more than a home for the 31st Fighter Wing and its fleet of F-16 Fighting Falcons.

"It will be one of the finest, if not the finest, base in the Air Force," Colonel Schwarz said, "I think Aviano should be at the top of all dream sheets."

Such grandeur would have seemed unimaginable in the early 1990s when Aviano was commonly referred to as a "sleepy hollow." That changed, however, with the closing of Torrejon Air Base, Spain, in 1994. NATO plans called for relocating the fighter wing to Crotone in southern Italy, but Congress voted not to fund construction of a new air base. Instead, the mission moved to Aviano.

When people and aircraft began arriving in April 1994, the transition doubled the base population. Soon after, the base became a hub for contingency operations during the Bosnian war, and the military population swelled to more than 4,000 people, including deployed airmen crowded in a tent city near an airfield brimming with more than 200 aircraft. For those permanently assigned, finding a house off base within a short commute to work became a quest for the Holy Grail. Then came Operation Allied Force and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

However, the men and women of Aviano always stood poised and ready to support the mission, and the construction kept on rolling despite a few bumps in the road.

"It's exciting," said wing commander Brig. Gen. Mike Worden about the Aviano mission and rapid pace of base improvements. "I have the best job in the Air Force. I get to cut ribbons and not turn out lights and shut down buildings. It's really heartwarming to be part of growth and not stagnate," be said referring to base closures that were a trend of the past decade. Instead, he added, Aviano is a place where "you see cranes and buildings popping up like daisies."

Among buildings in full bloom are the new base exchange, fitness center, commissary, a school consolidating kindergarten through high school in one main area, collocated club and four modern dormitories. Notable projects slated for completion this year include a lO0-suite temporary lodging facility, youth activities center, post office, base theater and a full-day kindergarten.

But, the program has truly been a team effort. "A key element to the program's success is the strong partnership of the project management office, the 31st Civil Engineer Squadron, the Navy resident office in charge of construction and the Italian air force," said Lt. Col. Ken Polasek, the deputy program manager. "The resident office in charge of construction and the Italian air force are responsible for 33 operational facilities, including an engine test cell facility, avionics building and a control tower that should be complete later this year."

"We've had some outstanding high-visibility Aviano 2000 facilities open in 2003 which added greatly to the quality of life of Aviano community members," said Mike McGhee, chief of the Aviano 2000 project management branch. "This year will be even bigger and more exciting for the Aviano 2000 program team. And 2005 and 2006 will be Just as big. You'd be hard pressed to recognize Aviano now even if you'd been stationed here three years ago. Come back in one to two years and you'll need a new map and a base orientation course."