Incirlik housing communities stay neat, clean and safe

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Chase Hedrick
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Clean, well ordered and quiet except for the occasional barbeque or bout of children laughing. Some may envision this as the perfect neighborhood, and Incirlik Air Base Accompanied Housing can often compare.

To help keep the neighborhoods on base an enjoyable living area, residents are held to certain standards and given responsibilities over their assigned quarters.

"Everybody's held to the same standard, and ultimately their living is improved," said Carole Carnley, Vinnel, Brown & Root, LLC housing clerk. "Also, care of the house carries over to future occupants and saves government dollars. When people take care of their house according to the regulations and what we're asking them, then the next occupant is going to reap the benefits."

While most residents follow standards and are responsible with taking care of their homes, sometimes mistakes are made. Ken Boxx, VBR housing manager, says that most of these mistakes are related to energy conservation responsibilities stemming from anything between accidently leaving outdoor lights on during the day to a child forgetting to turn off a faucet.

To help keep residents aware of their responsibilities in base housing, daily checks are made and notices of discrepancies are sent. Boxx said that while some Airmen residing in accompanied housing get upset about the notices, they are only intended as a reminder.

"It's got a list of all the things that could be wrong, and we just check the ones that are and send it to the occupant," said Boxx. "It's a reminder, there's no heavy handedness. It doesn't go to the first sergeant, it doesn't go to the commander, it just goes to the occupant."

One energy conservation responsibility residents most commonly miss during the summer is lawn care, he said. Watering lawns is restricted between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to keep the water from evaporating before seeping into the ground. Watering lawns is one of the largest expenditures of water on base said Boxx, who added that this standard helps the Air Force to save money.

Mowing grass is another lawn care responsibility of housing residents that is sometime missed. While the requirement of three inches or shorter grass is primarily for appearance, Carnley says that uncut grass can create a safety hazard.

"It can be dangerous in the summer time because that is a perfect place for snakes to hang out," she said. "But it's primarily aesthetics because it doesn't usually get past that point where it's an issue."

Presenting a neat, clean and safe home is the minimum, but some residents look to go even further with decorations. While authorized, there are some rules such as that holiday decorations may be installed no earlier than 30 days before and 15 days after the holidays.

"Different folks have seasonal banners and sports banners, and that's all encouraged. However we're not authorized to fly the American flag," said Boxx. "It's part of an agreement since we're on a Turkish base that we fly the flag only in front of the wing headquarters."

While a few responsibilities are missed from time to time, the one Boxx holds closest to is keeping children safe and out of the streets when playing.

"There's really no reason for it here on base," he said. "Unfortunately in our country there may be places where folks still have to play in the streets because that's all they got, but here we have playgrounds located all around housing. Kids will be kids, and we all know that. But they should play where it's safe."

Exact responsibilities for personnel living in accompanied housing can be found in the Family Housing Brochure at http://www.housing.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-120502-026.pdf. Copies are also given to housing residents upon moving in.