Air Force leaders cite housing development as ‘good example’ for other installations
ALTUS – Altus has set the “platinum standard” for the way local governments should work jointly with military leaders at installations throughout the U.S., top Pentagon brass said during a recent visit from city and community officials.
The trip to Washington brought Altus leaders in touch with Oklahoma’s congressional delegation and Pentagon officials who praised the community’s efforts to assist Altus Air Force Base with various projects and needs of airmen living in the city.
Pentagon officials “were very complimentary of the relationship we have with the base and said it set the platinum standard and that they would like to see that duplicated throughout the nation,” Altus City Manager Gary Jones said.
The trip centered on the 61st annual Quail Breakfast Altus hosts for congressmen and Pentagon officials. Altus leaders had six meetings with various Pentagon leaders, including the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force and the Vice Chief of the Air Force.
“We came away with a sense of pride about how much Altus is regarded as a special place for the military,” the city manager said.
Jones pointed to housing development and the spousal employment center as special projects that benefit airmen and their families stationed at Altus. The spousal employment center was initiated two years ago by the Altus Economic Development Authority.
“It gives airmen’s’ spouses a place to go and get away so they can have access to computers that allow them to search for jobs,” Jones said.
The housing development, known as The Trails at Veterans Court, is an ongoing project with the city providing the infrastructure. The bulk of the infrastructure has been completed with construction set to begin on 156 multifamily homes in the next two weeks, Jones said.
The development consists of 28.67 acres with The Trails comprising the project’s first phase. Room exists within the development for about 200 more homes, which could consist of multifamily and single-family dwellings.
The Washington, D.C., trip was also designed to tell the state’s congressional delegation the importance of the relationship between the city and the military base. Pentagon officials have been aware of that for some time and are allocating an estimated $40 million for a new public school on base.
The new school will be equipped with a full-size cafeteria, auditorium, gymnasium and enough saferoom space to accommodate everyone on the base if a tornado were to hit. The existing school is at least 50 years old and has had only minor renovations during that time, Altus Mayor Robert Garrison said.
The Altus contingent was informed by Pentagon officials during the trip that Altus Air Force Base is considered the top air base in the country and is in competition with a base in England for the Commander-in-Chief’s Installation Excellence Award.
Joining Jones on the D.C. trip were Garrison and four other council members, school Superintendent Roe Worbes, Altus Chamber of Commerce Director Rodger Kerr and members of the chamber’s Military Affairs committee.
Garrison labeled the trip “an eye-opening experience finding out Altus is pretty well known there.”
“They (Pentagon officials) were talking about our new housing development and how this is a good example (for other bases). They said they should put us on a plane to Alaska and show them how it’s done,” the mayor said.
The Altus contingent was told that 60-70% of the C-17 crews in the Air Force are trained at Altus and that every unit which participated in the August 2021 Afghan refugee airlift had been trained at the Altus base.
The C-17 Globemaster III is the most flexible cargo aircraft in the Air Force. It is capable of rapid, strategic delivery of troops and all types of cargo to main operating bases or directly to forward bases in a deployment area. The aircraft can perform tactical airlift and airdrop missions and can transport ambulatory patients during aeromedical evacuations.