ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam -- “We are working on something that’s going to be here several years,” said Staff Sgt. Kyler Jahner, 513th Expeditionary Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operations Repair Squadron Engineer (ERHS) structural journeyman. “Even if the military changes routes, these K-Spans are still going to be standing and available to support missions.”
As of October 2023, the 513th ERHS has been building six warehouse storage facilities (K-Spans). The 513th ERHS assumed construction duties from the 554th Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operations Repair Squadron Engineer (RED HORSE) upon its deployment to the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) theatre.
These particular K-Spans are worth a total $5.2 million dollars and are designed to support the storage of Regionally Based Cluster Pre-preposition kits (RBCP).
“The RBCP kits support the Agile Combat Employment concept along with enabling resilient basing in the PACAF area of responsibility (AOR),” said Staff Sgt. Kyler Jahner, 513th ERHS structural journeyman.
While on the K-Span project, the 513th ERHS used an ultimate building machine (UBM).
“UBMs can be taken anywhere as long as shipment can be arranged,” said Senior Airman Brandon Besaw, 513th ERHS electrical power production journeyman. “We can build K-Spans on site with UBMs, so we won’t need to send out a lot of material. The K-Spans are built with a thin gauge metal that is fabricated through the UBM.”
The 513th ERHS has a diverse team of eight AFSCs and 32 personnel working on the project since the first full rotation arrived on Oct 23. They have progressed the project by installing end wall foundations/steel, concrete ramps/pads, HVAC systems install, door installs, and insulations.
“Since being on island, the team has installed interior and exterior electrical components; end-wall steel and concrete footers,” said Master Sgt. Benjamin Booth, 513th ERHS large vertical construction team superintendent. “Regardless of specialty, this team of Airmen collectively perform duties outside of their normal craft to get the job done. Their steadfast performance demonstrates just how versatile they truly are as multi-capable Airmen prepared to meet the demands of our future Air Force.”