Eagle Housing area taking shape, construction continues

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Patrick Hyde
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Update: The following article was posted July 5 and is being re-run with the most current information.

7/5/2007 - INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey -- Eagle Housing is located adjacent to the chapel and it is taking on a whole new look with all the recent construction. More than 200 construction workers continue to build homes for future and present members of Team Incirlik.

The housing project construction is being executed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; the original construction agency for the base in 1950. The U.S. Engineer Group (the local office for the corps), or TUSEG, as it's known locally, has been the lead agency for the construction of this project since it's design was first commissioned in 2004. Since the project began in May 2006, the corps has closely monitored all aspects of the project to ensure a great end result for the Air Force.

"The construction thus far has gone extremely well." said Mr. Okan Nalbant, the lead Project Engineer for the Corps. "We are seeing exceptional quality from the contractor and are pretty happy with the progress to date. Before the end of the year, we plan to have the first 22 units completed with families ready to move in shortly after that."

"The pre-existing housing units were all two bedroom units and those units were torn down to meet Air Force standard requirements for brand new four bedroom living facilities," said Osman Sanliturk, 39th Civil Engineer Squadron Housing coordinator.

"We have had zero major safety mishaps since we began construction on January 19," said Ismail Bakiskan, Makyal-ERKA JV Construction Project Manager. "We do all of the carpentry, electric and masonry associated with the building of a house."

Eagle Housing construction has an estimated complete date of July 2008. The new housing construction project encompasses 100 new housing units, at an estimated cost of $16.5 million dollars.

U.S. Air Force members will be able to move into the housing units as each phase of construction is completed. As the year progresses families will continue moving into new houses as the remainder of houses are being built.

"There are a total of 850 housing units on base and by the year 2011 all 850 units will be new or renovated to meet updated standards," said Tom Carneal, 39th CES, Vinnell, Brown and Root deputy director of civil engineering.

Construction personnel rotate between eight-hour shifts, seven days a week. The total labor equals more than 8,500 man-hours per house from start to finish. The new Eagle Housing project encompasses parks, recreational sports areas and walking paths within its community representing small villages within the base.

"The new neighborhood of Air Force housing includes a strict standard of building for Turkey due to our location and our frequency for earthquakes to occur," said Mr. Carneal. "All of the buildings going up will be rated in zone two for withstanding an earthquake. This means the house can withstand the force of an earthquake of up to a seven on the Richter scale."

Construction has come a long way since the opening of Incirlik Air Base, Turkey in 1951. Many tools used then have been replaced by more technical inventions saving man hours and decreasing the time it takes to construct buildings. In this ever-changing world we have to adapt and overcome to meet the challenges of tomorrow.