Army, Air Force collaboration support warfighters at Luke Air Force
Members of the USACE Los Angeles District joined the team from Luke’s 56th Civil Engineer Squadron, or CES, discuss current and future critical facility construction projects, including F-35 Lightning II strike fighter facilities, as some of the work nears completion.
“At Luke, teamwork drives our mission success,” said Elvis Garay, the deputy area engineer for USACE at Luke. “We understand the 56th CES mission and, through partnership, we deliver the future of fighter pilot training as a team.”
The Los Angeles District supports joint military readiness and advanced warfighter capabilities while improving the quality of life for servicemembers and their families on several installations in the Southwest.
“The projects we deliver each year directly drive warfighter readiness at Luke Air Force Base,” said Garay, a California State University graduate with 20 years of engineering expertise with USACE. “By constructing, modernizing and maintaining specialized training infrastructure, our USACE team ensures that the base has the cutting-edge facilities needed to train combat-ready fighter pilots.”
According to the district’s Arizona resident engineer, Richard Fontanilla, the F-35 facilities we have built for them are state of the art, robust, and energy efficient. Our belief is that the F-35 maintainers now have the latest and most modern workspace to perform sensitive service to their jets while the pilots have the necessary room for pre-flight, operations, and mission debriefs.
“We are providing incredible value to Luke AFB by being the preferred provider of design and construction services.” said Fontanilla, a 28-year engineering veteran. “As we are resourced with project funds, we do not burden Luke AFB with regular overhead, payroll expenses and personnel matters. When we complete a project, we are off to the next mission unless our Luke AFB stakeholders want us to execute more projects, which has been the case continuously for many decades.”
Active USACE military construction projects at the air base exceed $55 million, with an additional $100 million in projects under planning and design. This includes construction on the installation and on the base’s training area at the Barry M. Goldwater Range in southern Arizona.
“We are providing value to Luke AFB by constructing the infrastructure to house (service members), shelter and repair aircraft, and maintain facilities that all serve to defend our nation and our interests” said Claudia Garcia, Los Angeles District project manager. “The alignment of our technical expertise with Luke AFB’s values is what has produced the value stream of repeat service to Luke AFB over the years. This is a value stream that we plan to continue providing in the future.”
According to Garcia, the district’s Air Force projects also include an air traffic control tower, new aircraft facilities and runway additions. In addition to many readiness facilities, the district is also making quality-of-life improvements through dorm renovations and a Child Development Center.
“This planned child development center will provide sufficient space to meet the demands for daycare services by the installation’s military personnel,” Garcia said
For more information on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Military Programs, visit: [https://www.usace.army.mil/Who-We-Are/Military-Programs/](https://www.usace.army.mil/Who-We-Are/Military-Programs/)
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