Breaking ground on long-awaited consolidated 433rd MDG facility

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Bryan Swink
  • 433rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas --  Construction is now officially underway for the new $7.8 million 433rd Airlift Wing Consolidated Medical Training Facility, after a ground-breaking ceremony held here July 14, 2016.

 

The ceremony was attended by leadership from the 433rd Airlift Wing, Joint Base San Antonio leadership, civic leaders and members from the San Antonio community. Col. David Scott, 433rd AW vice commander, Col. Ernest Vasquez, 433rd Medical Group commander, Col. Rachel Lefebvre, 59th Medical Wing vice commander, Col. Mike Nelson 433rd Medical Squadron commander, Col. Gregg Wentworth, 433rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron commander, Chief Master Sgt. Ernesto Flores, 433rd MDG superintendent, Mike Gross, EMR Inc. chief operating officer, and Master Sgt. Vincent Chandrabose, 433rd Medical Groupproject manager, all were on hand for the ground breaking. 

“The goals were very simple, consolidate the entire medical group in order to reduce duplication, enhance force protection, and foster collaboration across the entire medical community, including our active-duty  partners,” said Scott. “Our team of experts put this plan together. They made it happen, and they did an outstanding job.”  

The new building will be a two-story, 36,560-square-foot facility that will bring together all 433rd MDG units that have been previously displaced across JBSA-Lackland, under one roof. The building will be constructed as an annex to the existing active-duty medical clinic to facilitate reserve training, and through a shared use, will maximize clinical space for skills training.  

“The facility will allow the 433rd Medical Group to provide invaluable training and synergy of all three squadrons under one roof,” said Vasquez. “The 433rd Medical Group Consolidated Training and Administrative Facility, is cost efficient, fiscally responsible, and will create enhanced options to serve our forces. In the end, providing a medically ready force. This is what we do, and we are the best at doing just that.”  

The project’s contract was awarded at the end of May 2016 to EMR Inc., which is a small business contracting company based out of Lawrence, Kansas.    

According to its website, EMR Inc. focuses on providing leading practices for project management, construction techniques, subcontractor management, health and safety, quality assurance and quality control, and other issues affecting construction projects. 

Mike Gross, EMR Inc. chief operating officer overseeing the project, said he is excited to get the project underway.  

“EMR is honored to be part of this important project," he said. "This building will go up and stand for a long time as a monument to the partnership with Air Force.”

The expected completion date for the new facility is December 2017.