The hangar doors have officially opened for the new 4th Combat Aviation Brigade’s 4th Attack Battalion hangar on Butts Army Airfield on Fort Carson, Colorado. During a ribbon cutting ceremony last month, senior leaders, Soldiers and distinguished guests gathered in front of the building’s main entrance to celebrate the completion of this U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District project.
Representatives from the District’s Fort Carson South field office, the lead agency, attended the ceremony and provided the management and oversight for this military construction project.
According to Justin Scherzberg, contracting officer representative, Ft. Carson South office, despite the many challenges of a pandemic, the attack hangar project experienced a set-back of only three months.
“This is actually a mirror of a previous assault hangar,” Scherzberg said. “This new hangar was built on the footprint of an existing hangar. The first operation was to demolish the old hangar and remove the foundation, and then start from the new foundation up.”
The project began in October 2017 and was completed in March of this year at a cost of $62 million.
The new hangar is 103,425 square feet and can accommodate approximately 350 permanent personnel. It consists of administrative offices, a large conference room, workshops, and storage space. The aircraft hangar bay is large enough to house six Apache helicopters and all associated maintenance equipment.
The project also included a 112,000-square-yard airfield apron and a new parking lot.
During an official ribbon cutting ceremony on May 20th, before a group of Soldiers, civilian and distinguished guests, Lt. Col. Jason Woodward, commander 4th Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, talked about the attack battalion’s rich history dating back to the Vietnam era.
He also acknowledged members from the Omaha District team for their efforts and thanked the U.S. taxpayers for funding this project and entrusting his Soldiers with the responsibility of running and maintaining this new, state of the art, attack hangar facility.
“I have the distinct privilege of being the commander of the 4th Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, the ‘gambler-guns’. We are the proud recipients of this world-class hangar and park apron that we dedicate today,” Woodward said. “The gamblers are the finest attack battalion in the Army and have a long, proud heritage dating back to Vietnam, and most recently are part of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve.”
The gamblers are a world-class unit and the hangar we proudly take possession of today is a world-class facility, Woodward added.
The new facility was built according to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards and is currently waiting for an official LEED silver certification. LEED provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings.
Scherzberg acknowledged all the hard work of the entire Fort Carson South team to finish this project.
“Seeing a ribbon cutting and seeing the Soldiers move in is very rewarding,” Scherzberg said. “Especially in this job, construction, you get to see it built but then it’s a benefit, even more, seeing it get used.”
Due to the high volume of military construction projects on Fort Carson, and civil works projects in Colorado, the District maintains several forward site-offices in the state.