The basics for training

Juneau County’s Volk Field gets a facelift

By Jennifer Pfaff

Altmann Construction Co. Inc.'s work on Volk Field's squadron-operations facility continues through the winter. Photo courtesy of Altmann Construction Co. Inc.

People in the military need preparation to fulfill their missions.

They undergo intense training in procedures and decisions, and they learn how to handle complications that could arise in a real-world scenario.

Tucked in central Wisconsin’s Juneau County, Volk Field Air National Guard Base provides just such preparation as one of four combat-readiness training centers in the United States.

But just as the technologies involved in military training have changed through the years, so have the needs of the facilities that provide that training.

To meet those needs, the Air National Guard is in the midst of a $3.2 million construction project to create a new squadron-operations facility at Volk Field. The 14,400-square-foot building will serve as the nerve center of training operations for about 200 military units each year.

Inside, troops will receive their orders, set up and maintain equipment, complete classroom work and practice various responses, many of which might not
leave people with time to respect walls or furniture.

“The folks training in there will be wearing all their gear, so we went with masonry and abuse-resistant drywall for the interior,” said Tech. Sgt. James Rydmark.

Outside, the facility features brick and metal wall panels and a metal roof. The panels are colored to match the air-traffic control tower that was built in 2003, said Tom Altmann, vice president of Wisconsin Rapids-based Altmann Construction Co. Inc., the project’s general contractor.

The design of Volk Field's squadron-operations facility gives troops an updated area for training. Rendering courtesy of Mead & Hunt Inc

“It’s a really classy look,” he said.

But while Madison architects Mead & Hunt Inc. kept an eye toward aesthetics, the goal of functionality was paramount.

“Some of the buildings this building will replace are really antiquated,” said Maj. Dave Tessmer, public relations officer at Volk Field. “Fiber optics and other technologies now in use didn’t even exist when they were built.”

The squadron-operations facility is designed to accept any equipment that might be brought in because so many military units use the building in a given year. PVC conduit runs along exterior walls so fiber-optic cable and other communications lines can easily be set up.

“They need to have access so they can run their own communication systems,” said Lyle Leverentz, Mead & Hunt’s project architect. “We built in the ability to set up command posts and to have different troops set up telecommunications as needed.”

Everyone working on the project is subject to strict security measures, Tessmer said. Every contractor and subcontractor provides drivers license numbers, birth dates and names to security personnel, and they can only enter and exit the work site after being cleared by security. Material deliveries have to be met at the gate by the accepting contractor, he said.

Work on the building is expected to be completed in early May. Since August, the exterior walls and roofing have been installed, and interior work will progress through winter.

Base officials continue to look for ways to keep the 2,600-acre Volk Field up to date with military standards, and they hope to add on to the Volk Hotel and replace a 1960s hanger by 2012.

“It all depends on the folks in Washington and when they want to shake the money loose,” Rydmark said.

The squadron-operations facility was denied funding twice before earning approval for 2005. Design work originally began in 2000.

Mead & Hunt is submitting the facility design for a United States Air Force award.