Over an acre of land improved at Westover ARB in Chicopee

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for an airfield improvement project at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee.

The Pad 19 project was completed on August 15th which will enhance future training by providing a cargo handling and staging area within the Dogpatch area. The Dogpatch training area is approximately 1.2 acres and has been engineered into a paved section on the base. The work was conducted by engineers at Westover and 556th RED HORSE Airmen.

The ceremony to commemorate the completion was attended by 439th Airlift Wing leadership, engineers assigned to Westover Air Reserve Base’s Civil Engineering Department and Airmen of the 556th Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers (RED HORSE) of the Florida Air National Guard.

“This project was developed during the last 3 years and is the first of its kind in the last thirty years. The RED HORSE squadron so graciously integrated together with Westover’s Civil Engineering Squadron Airmen further fostering cross-training and opportunities for skill development. This project is a creative way to stretch limited construction funds,” said David Morin, Westover’s Director of Base Civil Engineering.

Westover Air Reserve Base said that the rotating schedule of Airmen’s annual two-week training saved contract costs of an estimated $7 million.

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