Lodging - Made to be home

Published Feb. 25, 2010
By Airman 1st Class Artemy Shpakovsky
Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- The Sakakawea Inn on Minot AFB recently completed renovations of its visiting quarters, dramatically improving the quality of life for Minot Airmen, their families and visitors.

Contractors hired by the Air Force Services Agency began this specific modernization project in early 2010. The upgrade included improvements to many of the rooms including the business suites, visiting airman quarters and visiting officer's quarters. Enhanced accommodations ease transitions for military members and their families, who may be moving due to a permanent change of station.

"Twenty-seven rooms have been renovated out of 75," said 1st Lt. Jan Liechty, 5th Force Support Squadron lodging officer-in-charge. He said it amounted to a large share of the rooms, with changes, "completely done from floor to ceiling."

Though this remodeling project cost approximately $459, 000, this is not a show of favoritism by the AFSVA to Minot AFB, said Lieutenant Liechty. The initiative is part of a service-wide program geared to the improvement of all Air Force lodging - both statewide and overseas.

"We are trying to establish good continuity at Air Force lodging everywhere," said Mrs. Cori Esselman, 5th FSS lodging manager. "Our vision is to have a good minimal standard, equal for everybody. So anyone who stays at lodging can count on certain uniformity and consistency in room quality as well as certain things being available to them."

While the quality of the newly-improved rooms is mainly dependent on design and comfort, there is another major part played by lodging employees, like the operation chiefs and housekeepers. They inspect the rooms and provide them with the needed supplies.

"I take pride in my work," said Mrs. Kay Kelly, 5th FSS lodging housekeeper. "I am in charge of delivering the linens, towels, everything needed. And if it's doesn't look good enough, it doesn't go in the room."

According to Staff Sgt. Cherie Burns, 5th FSS lodging operation chief, there are four sets of towels per quarters. And with 27 of them, it makes well over 100 sets of towels which were delivered and made ready for use daily with efforts of only one housekeeper - Mrs. Kelly.

"There's been an incredible amount of work done, and it took all of our employees' hard work to complete everything according to schedule," said Lieutenant Liechty. "It was definitely a team effort - we even had workers come and help us from the 5th Civil Engineer Squadron. They did this in addition to their normal duties."

The suites were designed to give the visiting member a feel for North Dakota. Everything from the walls to the flooring gives the visitor a sense of the area and a connection to the local community.

"We want to make it so any military member or their family can feel like they have been to the area, seeing more of the country," Esselman said. "Our intention is to make customers feel like they know more about where they've been after they leave by personalizing the rooms and filling the rooms and lobbies with the specific culture of the region."

The job has been done - and the rooms are ready to be used. Whether it is an Airman on temporary duty, a family getting ready to PCS or just a military member traveling - the Sakakawea Inn is ready to take them in, giving them a place to stay and rest. A place they can, even for little while, call home.