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The first triwing dorm-of-the-quarter inspection took place at the end of April.
The dorm-of-the-quarter awards are a new incentive that recognize Airmen for their hard work in keeping their living areas clean and aims to encourage them to continue to maintain a high standard of living during their tours here. The judges inspected a total of 15 dorm buildings.
The first-place dorm building received a $1,000 budget, and the second-place winners earned $500 to spend on something residents agree upon to maintain or better their living quarters.
“This is the first time we’ve done the dorm-of-the-quarter award,” said Master Sgt. Calandra Folds, 86th Civil Engineer Squadron superintendent of unaccompanied housing. “We had a team of first sergeants go out and judge the dorms on Kapaun, and two teams (split up on Ramstein). They pick the best dorms out of those three areas, as well as inspect a room chosen by the dorm councils. A day or two later, the command chiefs come out and look at the dorms that were chosen. They inspect the interiors and exteriors.
“The (airmen dormitory leaders) of the winning dorms sit down with the Airmen to figure out what they would like to do with the money earned to better their living space,” Folds continued. “Whatever they request, as long as it’s within the budget and falls in line with safety, health and wellness, we will purchase those items.”
During the inspection, the judges take every little thing into consideration. The inspection encompasses an overall dorm building concept, and the winning building is the one that has shown the most improvement and effort.
“We encourage the dorm council members to be there to greet us and the first sergeants and show us pictures of what the dorm looked like the quarter prior,” said Chief Master Sgt. Phillip Easton, 86th Airlift Wing command chief. “It has nothing to do with how new the dorm is. If anything, the older the building is, the greater chance it has to win because there is a lot of room for improvement.”
This quarter’s winning dorm was Bldg. 2119, and second place was Bldg. 2418. Though the winning dorm is a newly renovated building, Tech. Sgt. Theresa Fields, 86th CES ADL, said the Airmen and volunteers took great pride in bringing their building from an infrastructure to a home away from home.
“Even though the building I was in charge of is the newest, I think all of the Airmen understood that they are ambassadors for the entire (base) because the dorm is in a high-visibility location,” Fields said. “We have a lot of visitors, and they know that if whoever is visiting likes something, they may be more inclined to push it out for the rest of the dorms. They all understood that this was bigger than just them winning. It affects the entire campus.”
Airman 1st Class Christopher Herring, 86th Medical Support Squadron medical logistics journeyman and dorm vice president, said it was great to see everyone come together, and they’re talking about improvements they can make in the future to win again.
Airmen from both the first- and second-place dorms will be able to choose what to do with their winnings.
“We’re talking a lot about what we want to do with the prize money,” Herring said. “We haven’t come up with anything just yet, but we’re thinking about improving our gazebo, buying personal items for the rooms or a snack fund. Those are just a few ideas we’ve talked about.”
With this new program, Airmen’s hard work in maintaining their dorms doesn’t go unnoticed.
“We hope this first inspection is an incentive for Airmen to put in hard work so the next time they can earn that money,” Folds said. “Ultimately, we want it to become so competitive that it’s hard for the (judges) to choose. We want it to be a healthy competition where we can recognize the Airmen for the hard work they do.”
Herring said the Airmen in his dorm like the new program.
“I believe it is important to have some type of recognition,” Herring said. “Aside from all of us having our normal duty hours and others working shifts, we still find the time to uphold standards and be proud of what’s ours.”
The next dorm-of-the-quarter inspection will take place June 27 and 28. These inspections give Airmen the opportunity to showcase their building and take home the prize money to improve their living quarters.
