Aviano community members receive news, voice concerns at town hall meeting Published March 12, 2012 By Tech. Sgt. Lindsey Maurice 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy -- Base community members gathered at La Bella Vista Club and tuned into American Forces Network March 5 to hear the 31st Fighter Wing commander's top priorities and to bring their top concerns to his attention as part of the quarterly town hall meeting. Brig. Gen. Scott Zobrist, 31st FW commander, opened the event thanking everyone for their hard work and patience over the previous week as the wing underwent an intense six-day Operational Readiness Exercise that not only tested the wing's new internal inspection process, but used a non-standard concept of "fighting-in-place" from Aviano. "We set out to test our capability in generating airpower, deploying forces, receiving/bedding down forces at Aviano, and employing airpower from Aviano just like we did for over eight months last year in Operations ODYSSEY DAWN and UNIFIED PROTECTOR. " he said. "While the exercise and inspection process presented some new and unique challenges along the way, the wing was able to meet or exceed all exercise objectives thanks to your hard work and dedication." The general went on to thank Aviano families and non-players for their patience throughout the event. "While it would have been much easier to severely restrict access to the base for all non-players during the exercise, we tried to minimize the exercise's impact on families by allowing most of the base and all customer service functions to stay open throughout its duration," he said. "Unfortunately, it isn't easy to mix simulation and reality so some of you may have gotten caught up in various scenarios. I apologize to those of you who were inconvenienced, but I hope that you understand the incredible complexity of executing a realistic exercise while maintaining full base functionality. Some things worked, and some things didn't, but we'll certainly take our lessons learned and make the next exercise better, including a better separation of the 'play' or simulation areas from real world operational areas." Zobrist also addressed military parents facing child care issues during the ORE. "I realize that a weekend exercise can create child care challenges," he said. "We'll continue to work on viable options with the CDC, but the CDC cannot cover every contingency so it is very important that you have a current and executable Family Care Plan. In the event that child care assistance is still needed, please address your concerns with unit leadership so we can find a solution that works for your family while allowing the base to execute its critical mission. Your key spouses and/or first sergeant may also be able to steer you in the right direction and help get you the assistance requested." The general encouraged everyone to enjoy their time off March 9, which he authorized as a "down day" in an effort to balance work and time off having worked the ORE over the Feb. 25-26 weekend. " While a day off won't make up for working over the weekend, hopefully a long weekend will allow us all to recharge a bit after a strong performance in the exercise," he said. "We are working hard to find ways to avoid weekends in future exercises and I believe we've found a way to do exactly that. I am committed to a stable, predictable exercise schedule so I'll keep you posted on the details as we refine our future exercise schedule leading up to the Operational Readiness Inspection in September." Zobrist then transitioned into welcoming newcomers and the importance of being a good sponsor as the high permanent change of station summer season approaches. "I've asked the entire community to welcome your new people them right away," the general said. "Good sponsorship really begins in the heart and in the head. You need to think about what it is you needed when you got here and try to extend that to other folks out there. And while you may not be a sponsor yourself, you can still have a big role in making others feel welcome to the Aviano community." He challenged each unit to do their best at welcoming each new Airman or civilian and their families. "Every person coming into our community is a new addition to our family and we want to do a good job of welcoming them," Zobrist said. The general then encouraged those in attendance and listening at home to give their direct comments, questions, and honest feedback during the town hall event. Some of the biggest discussion topics included a base dog park, child care, food options on base and gate access to Area F. The following is a list of questions and answers discussed: Q: Will there be a dog park on base and when can dog owners anticipate the grand opening? A: While plans are still in the works, dog owners should be able to take their canine companions to the base dog park in June 2012. The 31st Mission Support Group has been working closely with base leadership in developing a viable plan that is cost effective and beneficial to the base populace. Several designs and locations have been discussed and the final selection will be made in the near future so a contract can be awarded and construction can begin. The layout should be simple with fencing, some shaded areas, a water source for dogs and some benches for owners. More to come on this topic. Q: Is there a child care option available for children ages 6-10 years old during Right Start? A: Unfortunately there are no prearranged child care options for this age group during Right Start, but it is something wing leadership will look into. This is where a good sponsor comes in handy to work together with the unit first sergeant, key spouse and leadership to see if arrangements can be made through someone in the unit. In addition, spouses may bring children of any age with them to the Spouses' Hour segment of Right Start, which is offered at 10 a.m. every Monday. Q: How will the 603rd Air Control Squadron's deactivation sometime in Fiscal Year 2013 impact the base? A: Manpower and assignments will be working closely in the coming months with the 317 people currently assigned to the 603rd ACS. Some individuals, based on their Air Force specialties and manning availabilities, may be able to do a permanent change of assignment and remain at Aviano, while others will have to relocate to other installations. In regards to how this will impact the base, the flying mission will continue as usual and base services should remain unaffected. Q: What is the possibility of getting additional fast food vendors or a restaurant like Chili's on base in Area 1? A: There are many factors that play into a new food facility opening on a military installation. At this time, there are no plans for any new food facilities, but The Exchange will look into this matter. Q: Would it be possible to get some "healthier" food vendor options on base? A: Most of the food vendors in The Exchange food court have healthy food options on their menus as does the Commissary with its salad bar, deli sandwich station, and ready-made items during the duty day lunchtime hours. La Bella Vista Club also offers soup and salad Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Exchange is open to food court vendor suggestions in the instance an area becomes available. Q: Is there any truth to the base bowling alley shutting down? A: The Bowling Center is currently undergoing restroom renovations and should be completed by the end of March. The second phase of the renovation will begin in June and should be completed in late Aug. During that time the Bowling Center will be completely closed. The Deja Brew Café will be moved to the Community Center from mid June until the renovation is completed. Q: Are there any updates to the soggiorno/codice fiscal process in regards to informing customers when they are about to expire and making the expiration dates align with the dependent's permanent change of station date? A: In respect to the soggiorno process, everyone who was in the system has been put into a spreadsheet electronically in order to digitize the record keeping and then we went back and identified and notified people who had soggiornos that were about to expire. The soggiorno office personnel have been clearing through that backlog and are almost up-to-date. In regards to newcomers, it is important that individuals show up to their scheduled soggiorno appointment so that they are also added to the tracking system. Sponsors can assist the process by ensuring those they are sponsoring make their appointment. Individuals should begin the process to update their soggiorno at least 60 days before its date of expiration. Regarding the codice fiscal process, there have been no changes in regards to getting them ahead of time from the Italian Pordenone office. Q: What is the possibility of opening the West Gate (Large Vehicle Inspection Gate) to privately owned vehicles? A: With about 30 percent of the off base population residing west of the base, this is something 31st Fighter Wing leadership is looking into as an option. Discussions of a trial run in the near future are in the works with more to come. Q: What is the possibility of the Shoppette in Area F being open 24 hours a day for shift worker customers? A: The Exchange has tried this in the past and found that there were not enough customers utilizing the late night/early morning hours to justify it remaining open; however, the organization said it is open to extending the Shoppette hours on a trial basis. There will be more to come on this topic. Q: Why is the South Gate the only gate open on Area F during the weekend? A: This is due to an agreement between the U.S. and Italian Air Force to have only one gate open during this time. Q: Is the USO (United Service Organization) coming to Aviano and if so, is Operation Yellow Ribbon going away? A: Operation Yellow Ribbon operates on a strictly volunteer basis and offers military members some much needed comfort and refreshment when passing through the Aviano Passenger Terminal while they are headed to or returning home from a deployment destination. Locally, the program serves anywhere from 200-400 troops every week and has no plans of going away. Anyone interested in volunteering for the program, can e-mail avianoab.OYR@gmail. Regarding the United Service Organization, it is interested in having a presence at Aviano and a representative did visit the base last year. There will be more to come on this topic.