MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- You step off an aircraft at McChord after arriving for Reserve training weekend. You bus to the lodging office and wait in line for a key. You get to the desk and you’re told there are no rooms at the Evergreen Inn. You are going off base. And your car is in Salt Lake City. Or Spokane. Not good.
With the recent increase in the number of “fly-ins,” (Reservists who fly to McChord from Eastern Washington or Utah for their training weekend) this situation is happening more often. Too often, according to Reservists and the people who run the lodging program.
The solution is at hand. The 446th Services Flight and the 62nd Services Squadron’s lodging office have teamed up to prevent “fly-ins” without transportation from being billeted in say, Tumwater, which is more than 25 miles away from McChord.
According to Master Sgt. Anita Barnes, 446th SVF air reserve technician and manager of the wing lodging program, there are established procedures that give “fly-ins” first priority for on-base rooms. Like any program, the key to success lies on Reservists following some simple, yet vital, steps.
“Every month, Reservists who ride the shuttle (a C-17 flight that stops in Spokane and Salt Lake City) should sign up, in their units, on the billeting roster,” said Sergeant Barnes. “They should make sure and designate that they are a “fly-in” so people at the reservations office at the Evergreen Inn know the Reservist will not have local transportation.”
If a Reservist forgets to sign up at the squadron, a call to the unit lodging monitor can solve the problem.
“The sign up deadline for all Reservists who need billeting is the Wednesday before each (training) weekend. If they forget to do that, they need to call their unit lodging monitor (see list below) and the monitor will make that reservation,” said Sergeant Barnes.
Reservists should not call the Evergreen Inn office with changes to their reservations. All reservations and changes should be made through the unit lodging monitors.
“We are here to help make this a smooth process,” said Sergeant Barnes. “If anyone has any problems they can call me and I’ll work out a solution.”
Assistance with lodging issues will also be provided by unit representatives at the lodging office when Reservists come in. Master Sgt. Anthony Mack, first sergeant for the 446th Mission Support Squadron said there will be a first sergeant or unit rep at the billeting office on Friday evenings of UTA weekends to help with any issues that come up. But, Sergeant Mack added, winning the lodging battle is very much an issue of personal accountability.
“Reservists who utilize billeting need to be a part of the process,” he said. “That means you sign up correctly every month and, if your duty dates change, you ensure your old reservations are cancelled and your new ones are made through their unit lodging monitor. I would also advise that everyone with reservations calls the Evergreen Inn to confirm those reservations no later than the Wednesday prior to a UTA.”
By signing up for billeting and calling to confirm reservations, solutions to any problems can be worked out in advance of your arrival, instead of trying to work it out late on a Friday night.