20th FW leadership hosts town hall

Published Aug. 10, 2016
By Airman 1st Class Kelsey Tucker
20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. – -- 20th Fighter Wing leadership held a town hall with base residents to address current topics concerning the installation here Aug. 9.

The topics included renovations to the 441 Gate and its impact, as well as immunizations, and future upgrades to the Main Fitness Center and Wateree Recreation Area.

“We want there to be as much understanding as possible about the decisions we’ve made and why we’ve made them, so that hopefully we can keep that momentum going forward across the changes of command,” said Col. Stephen Jost, 20th FW commander. “We don’t want to lose any momentum on some things that are very important. A lot of the things we’re doing on base have to do with the safety of children and security of the installation.”

Renovations to the 441 Gate are intended to better funnel off-base school traffic to and from the public schools on Shaw without allowing unauthorized personnel access to the rest of the base, increasing the safety and security of the installation. The 441 Gate reopening and new traffic flow are scheduled for Aug. 11.

In addition to the 441 Gate renovations, the forum discussed ongoing upgrades to the Main Fitness Center, including new offices for Health Promotions and other 20th Force Support Squadron personnel and a new racquetball court. For the Wateree Recreation Area, a second boat ramp to alleviate congestion is in the plans.

Another topic included the medical readiness of service members and their families. A representative from the 20th Medical Group shared that effective this year, Department of Defense-wide, flu vaccines will only be available in shot form, instead of the nasal mist offered previously.

While all of these subjects addressed changes across Shaw, the main purpose was to facilitate the dialogue between the base community and wing leadership.

“We selected a time conducive with maximizing participation and the turnout has been great,” said Master Sgt. David Patten, 20th FSS Airman and Family Readiness Center noncommissioned officer in charge. “The purpose of this town hall is to raise awareness on various improvements across the base and collect feedback and concerns from the community. It’s a great atmosphere to get questions asked and answered.”

As the town hall drew to a close, wing leadership urged those in attendance to continue showing the same level of interest in community involvement, even as topics change over time.